Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price shot up 1.3% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $185.59 and last traded at $185.41. Approximately 8,098,133 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 15,023,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on QCOM. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Qualcomm from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.83.

Qualcomm Stock Down 11.1%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $177.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. Qualcomm had a net margin of 21.01% and a return on equity of 38.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. Analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Cristiano Amon sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 177,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,513,600. This represents a 5.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.06, for a total transaction of $437,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,641,072.94. This trade represents a 10.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 33,458 shares of company stock valued at $6,198,144 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cowa LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Qualcomm by 17.0% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 17,526 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,543 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Qualcomm by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 16,226 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Qualcomm by 5,320.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Qualcomm by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 24,303 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,473,000 after buying an additional 2,268 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated is a technology company that develops and commercializes wireless communications and semiconductor technologies. Through Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, the company designs integrated circuits, system software and related platforms used in smartphones, personal computers, automobiles, industrial equipment, consumer devices and other connected products. Its Snapdragon platforms support mobile computing, connectivity, artificial intelligence and multimedia applications, while its broader portfolio includes radio-frequency systems, networking and edge-computing technologies.

Qualcomm also operates a significant technology-licensing business through its Qualcomm Technology Licensing segment.