QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 4.3% After Earnings Miss

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) traded down 4.3% during trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $165.40 and last traded at $168.24. 7,467,003 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 7,702,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.86.

The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 26.03%.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price objective on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 94 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,570. This represents a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 10,373 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 24,981 shares of company stock worth $4,000,870 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 29,148 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,957,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 124,409 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $21,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,529 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,946 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. Finally, Patten Group Inc. boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 14,172 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $188.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $161.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

QUALCOMM Company Profile

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.