QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was up 1.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $157.51 and last traded at $156.20. Approximately 943,700 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 8,909,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $190.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of QUALCOMM to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, November 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna cut their target price on QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $160.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.25. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.03% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.90 billion. On average, analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.09 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is 37.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 1,901 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $313,779.06. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,981,875.42. This represents a 13.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 10,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.59, for a total transaction of $1,665,800.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,975.97. This trade represents a 23.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,882 shares of company stock worth $4,314,649 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 137.3% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 197 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Company Profile

QUALCOMM Incorporated engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia, and position location products.