QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 1.9% - What's Next?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.9% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $156.07 and last traded at $156.13. Approximately 1,357,829 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 8,556,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on QCOM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $240.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $179.00 to $157.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.96.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $170.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $147.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $10.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.58 billion. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.11% and a return on equity of 40.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is a boost from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.10, for a total transaction of $35,265.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,568,140.80. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.74, for a total transaction of $220,384.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,793 shares in the company, valued at $3,139,507.82. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 423,464 shares of company stock valued at $8,135,164. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 2.4% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,350,568 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $207,461,000 after buying an additional 31,085 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 9.1% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 462,731 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $71,080,000 after purchasing an additional 38,755 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 8.8% in the first quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 49,631 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $7,624,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in QUALCOMM by 78.7% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 34,918 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $5,364,000 after purchasing an additional 15,374 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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