QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 2.1% on Analyst Upgrade

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2.1% during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $170.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. QUALCOMM traded as high as $160.41 and last traded at $161.43. 1,739,442 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 8,499,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.09.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $240.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded QUALCOMM to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $250.00 to $216.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $188.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.74, for a total value of $220,384.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,139,507.82. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Inc/De Qualcomm sold 412,500 shares of the 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. Insiders have sold a total of 424,747 shares of company stock valued at $8,402,174 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 70.0% in the first quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 122.4% during the first quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $177.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $151.53 and a 200 day moving average of $155.01. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $10.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.58 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 40.11% and a net margin of 26.11%. The firm's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This is an increase from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. QUALCOMM's payout ratio is 36.25%.

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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