QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Up 0.1% - Here's Why

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $173.49 and last traded at $171.74. Approximately 1,603,720 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 7,356,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QCOM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of QUALCOMM from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $207.00 to $204.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.57.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $190.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $159.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.25. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.03% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.90 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. QUALCOMM's payout ratio is 37.82%.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In other QUALCOMM news, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $202,120.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,570. The trade was a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $409,056.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 19,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,121,130.68. The trade was a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,882 shares of company stock valued at $4,314,649 in the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the third quarter worth about $26,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 137.3% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 197 shares of the wireless technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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