QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $205.32.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on QCOM. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Melius started coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Friday, February 7th.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $175.22 on Thursday. QUALCOMM has a 12 month low of $148.90 and a 12 month high of $230.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.61. The firm has a market cap of $193.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at QUALCOMM

In related news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $409,056.44. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 19,739 shares in the company, valued at $3,121,130.68. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 19,287 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.83, for a total transaction of $3,275,511.21. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,526,010.46. This represents a 48.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,964 shares of company stock valued at $7,583,661 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Sky Capital Consultants Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $674,000. Warm Springs Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at $1,109,000. Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new position in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth $533,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth $32,751,000. Finally, Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth $2,973,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.