QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They issued a buy rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of QUALCOMM from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $160.68.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ QCOM opened at $165.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.75. The company has a market capitalization of $185.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.41. QUALCOMM has a 12 month low of $101.47 and a 12 month high of $177.59.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.50 billion. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 21.39% and a return on equity of 38.06%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that QUALCOMM will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. This is an increase from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total value of $520,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares in the company, valued at $12,030,317.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other QUALCOMM news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.49, for a total transaction of $520,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,030,317.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.27, for a total transaction of $1,346,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 261,893 shares in the company, valued at $44,068,735.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,260 shares of company stock worth $5,973,728. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank OH acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth $219,000. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the third quarter worth $629,000. Bank Hapoalim BM lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 35,423 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,192 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 20,677 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 11,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 24.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 39,460 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $4,382,000 after purchasing an additional 7,682 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.