QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 0.6%

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $159.86 and last traded at $163.29. 2,418,555 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 8,522,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on QCOM. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "in-line" rating and a $177.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $173.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.90.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $180.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The stock's 50-day moving average is $164.74 and its 200 day moving average is $142.33.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.50 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 21.39%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. QUALCOMM's payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Insider Activity

In other QUALCOMM news, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.39, for a total transaction of $1,275,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 269,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,018,245.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.39, for a total value of $1,275,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 269,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,018,245.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total transaction of $520,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,030,317.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,360 shares of company stock worth $7,184,678 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Verum Partners LLC boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 0.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 322,066 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $54,526,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the first quarter valued at $228,000. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the first quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 44.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 388,122 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $65,709,000 after buying an additional 120,088 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.