QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Receives Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $240.00 price objective on the wireless technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on QCOM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on QUALCOMM from $207.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ QCOM opened at $167.96 on Friday. QUALCOMM has a 52-week low of $146.29 and a 52-week high of $230.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $161.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.04. The firm has a market cap of $185.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. Research analysts predict that QUALCOMM will post 9.19 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

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