QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 0.4% Following Weak Earnings

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares traded down 0.4% on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $169.90 and last traded at $172.30. 2,237,561 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 7,165,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.04.

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

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on QCOM shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QUALCOMM news, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,570. This trade represents a 93.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $409,056.44. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 19,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,121,130.68. This trade represents a 11.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,981 shares of company stock worth $4,000,870 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 112,367 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $17,262,000 after buying an additional 4,560 shares during the period. PFG Advisors lifted its stake in QUALCOMM by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 3,993 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,304,594 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $200,412,000 after acquiring an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in QUALCOMM by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 33,177 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, Natural Investments LLC bought a new position in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth $399,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $161.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.25.

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.