QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 1.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price was up 1.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $171.92 and last traded at $169.95. Approximately 1,650,735 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,742,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on QCOM. Melius initiated coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp cut shares of QUALCOMM from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.57.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.86 and a 200 day moving average of $168.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.40.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.90 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QUALCOMM news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,121,130.68. This represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 10,373 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.59, for a total value of $1,665,800.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,975.97. The trade was a 23.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,882 shares of company stock valued at $4,314,649. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,016 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 374 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,481,143 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $534,773,000 after acquiring an additional 289,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its position in QUALCOMM by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 31,788 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares during the period. 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.