QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, November 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of QCOM stock opened at $165.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $182.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $164.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.72. QUALCOMM has a one year low of $149.43 and a one year high of $230.63.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. Sell-side analysts expect that QUALCOMM will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.32%.

Insider Activity

In other QUALCOMM news, CAO Neil Martin sold 744 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.83, for a total transaction of $130,073.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,596.63. The trade was a 61.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total value of $484,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,778 shares in the company, valued at $7,879,598.12. The trade was a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,708 shares of company stock valued at $7,713,734. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by 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.