QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 3% Higher - Should You Buy?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $143.88 and last traded at $142.86. Approximately 2,429,874 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 8,849,999 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on QCOM shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of QUALCOMM from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $201.21.

QUALCOMM Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.90.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from QUALCOMM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. QUALCOMM's dividend payout ratio is 36.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In other news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total value of $509,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,115 shares in the company, valued at $10,716,927. This represents a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total transaction of $130,073.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,596.63. The trade was a 61.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,666 shares of company stock valued at $5,047,052. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,841,103 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $284,708,000 after purchasing an additional 523,244 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,596 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth $2,058,000. Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 665.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 146,911 shares of the wireless technology company's stock worth $22,568,000 after purchasing an additional 127,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. 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.

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