QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Now Covered by Analysts at Melius

Melius initiated coverage on shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $180.00 target price on the wireless technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on QCOM. TD Cowen upgraded shares of QUALCOMM to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of QUALCOMM from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

QCOM opened at $160.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $178.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $165.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.03. QUALCOMM has a twelve month low of $134.07 and a twelve month high of $230.63.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.80, for a total transaction of $1,358,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 213,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,229,207.20. This represents a 3.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $202,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 94 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,570. This represents a 93.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,450 shares of company stock valued at $3,395,926 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 199 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,791 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in QUALCOMM by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 13,843 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.