QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.4%

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $165.93 and last traded at $163.57. 1,593,751 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 8,510,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on QCOM. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Benchmark began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.86.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $182.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.97.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.50 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 21.39%. As a group, research analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.38%.

Insider Activity

In other QUALCOMM news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 689 shares in the company, valued at $103,232.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 8,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,300 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,232.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,260 shares of company stock worth $5,973,728. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. Peoples Bank OH acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the third quarter worth about $629,000. Bank Hapoalim BM lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 35,423 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,192 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 20,677 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 11,285 shares during the period. Finally, Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 5.8% during the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 327,547 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $36,377,000 after purchasing an additional 18,090 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

About QUALCOMM

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.