QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 0.5% – Time to Sell?

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $159.09 and last traded at $159.34. 804,749 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 8,190,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on QCOM shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research started coverage on QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $199.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firm has a market cap of $175.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is 36.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $246,784.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,393 shares in the company, valued at $3,762,376.32. This trade represents a 6.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alexander H. Rogers sold 19,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.83, for a total value of $3,275,511.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,526,010.46. This trade represents a 48.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,968 shares of company stock valued at $4,685,077. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth $1,704,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth $1,601,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,716,000. 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.