QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 0.7% - Here's What Happened

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) shot up 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $159.40 and last traded at $159.36. 2,839,592 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 8,968,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on QCOM. KeyCorp lowered QUALCOMM from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on QUALCOMM from $190.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of QUALCOMM from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $177.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.04.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.25. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.03% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.90 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.09 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. QUALCOMM's payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 10,373 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.59, for a total value of $1,665,800.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,360,975.97. This trade represents a 23.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $409,056.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 19,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,121,130.68. This represents a 11.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,127 shares of company stock valued at $6,710,055 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in QCOM. Lantz Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the second quarter worth about $234,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,655 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 11,816 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 19.9% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,170 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $5,213,000 after purchasing an additional 4,347 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.0% in the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 9,707 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $1,933,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.