QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 0.8% - Time to Sell?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $173.55 and last traded at $173.83. 1,281,614 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 7,484,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on QCOM. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, November 11th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $164.46 and its 200-day moving average is $165.72. The company has a market capitalization of $182.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. Equities analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QUALCOMM news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $409,056.44. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 19,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,121,130.68. The trade was a 11.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total transaction of $484,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,879,598.12. This represents a 5.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,708 shares of company stock worth $7,713,734. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in QUALCOMM by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,730,186 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $17,471,231,000 after purchasing an additional 707,468 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,615,929 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $8,777,289,000 after acquiring an additional 870,814 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,798,900 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $4,262,826,000 after acquiring an additional 670,432 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,721,882,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,579,529 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $2,313,634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905,918 shares during 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.