QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Downgraded to "Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. HSBC cut shares of QUALCOMM from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a neutral rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $211.67.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM traded up $2.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.32. 4,482,759 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,190,903. QUALCOMM has a 12 month low of $104.33 and a 12 month high of $230.63. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $168.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.28.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The wireless technology company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.21. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 23.32% and a return on equity of 38.12%. The company had revenue of $9.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.23 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that QUALCOMM will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. QUALCOMM's payout ratio is 45.70%.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.95, for a total transaction of $497,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,535,970.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.95, for a total value of $497,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,535,970.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 3,245 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.15, for a total value of $539,156.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,355,180.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,245 shares of company stock valued at $4,296,237. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 177 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 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.