Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Up 1.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $161.79 and last traded at $160.56. Approximately 11,402,484 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 15,841,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QCOM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Freedom Capital raised Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $200.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Thursday, June 25th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Qualcomm presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.63.

Qualcomm Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $168.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.65.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%.The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. Qualcomm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is 42.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 625 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.85, for a total value of $101,781.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,872.80. This represents a 75.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.04, for a total transaction of $470,528.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,372,106.40. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,325 shares of company stock worth $1,925,859 over the last 90 days. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Qualcomm by 18,251.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 301,278,659 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $55,673,283,000 after buying an additional 299,636,973 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the second quarter worth $17,583,115,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter worth $2,591,056,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the second quarter valued at $1,523,930,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the second quarter valued at $1,178,349,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated is a global semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 1985, the company is known for its development of wireless technologies and for playing a central role in the evolution of digital cellular standards, including CDMA and subsequent generations of mobile standards. Qualcomm’s business combines the design and sale of semiconductor products with a patent licensing program for wireless technologies and related intellectual property.

The company’s product portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) platforms marketed under the Snapdragon brand, cellular modem and RF front-end components, connectivity solutions for Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth, and processors and platforms aimed at automotive, IoT, networking and edge-computing applications.