QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 0.1% - Time to Sell?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) dropped 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $170.97 and last traded at $171.54. Approximately 1,125,478 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 7,206,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Melius initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp cut shares of QUALCOMM from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.57.

QUALCOMM Stock Up 0.1 %

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $160.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market cap of $191.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.25. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 26.03%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.90 billion. Research analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM's payout ratio is 37.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,570. This represents a 93.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 1,901 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $313,779.06. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,981,875.42. This trade represents a 13.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,882 shares of company stock valued at $4,314,649. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in QUALCOMM by 1,702.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,191,342 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $542,688,000 after buying an additional 3,014,302 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 17,357.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,310 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $499,320,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,490 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,128,468 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $4,600,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,725 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,506,863 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,250,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 202.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,061,900 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $350,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company's stock.

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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