QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 1.7% - Should You Sell?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) shares traded down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $150.79 and last traded at $151.08. 2,542,147 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 8,637,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on QUALCOMM from $250.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut QUALCOMM from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded QUALCOMM to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $190.28.

QUALCOMM Stock Down 1.1%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.05. The firm has a market cap of $166.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.58 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 40.11% and a net margin of 26.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.10, for a total value of $486,951.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 49,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,272,711.90. The trade was a 6.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Inc/De Qualcomm sold 412,500 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $6,600,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 423,464 shares of company stock valued at $8,135,164. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in QUALCOMM by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 3,126 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in QUALCOMM by 116.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,356 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 9,343 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,394,000. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in QUALCOMM by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. 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.

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