QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares fell 0.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $157.35 and last traded at $159.07. 678,321 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 8,934,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on QCOM. TD Cowen raised shares of QUALCOMM to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on QUALCOMM from $190.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut QUALCOMM from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $176.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The wireless technology company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.90 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.09 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is 37.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 3,245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.15, for a total transaction of $539,156.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,355,180.65. This represents a 9.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 19,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,121,130.68. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,127 shares of company stock valued at $6,710,055 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,615,929 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $8,777,289,000 after purchasing an additional 870,814 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in QUALCOMM by 7.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,128,468 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,600,625,000 after buying an additional 1,989,725 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,036,779 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,999,114,000 after buying an additional 86,195 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,356,581 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,421,037,000 after acquiring an additional 498,284 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,506,863 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,250,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,432 shares during the last quarter. 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.