QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 2.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) fell 2.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $141.77 and last traded at $143.66. 2,740,402 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 8,868,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on QCOM. Citigroup dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $179.00 to $157.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised QUALCOMM to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on QUALCOMM from $195.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, QUALCOMM currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.08.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $159.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.29. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $145.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.29.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.03. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 39.51% and a net margin of 25.94%. The company had revenue of $10.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 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 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This is a boost from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In related news, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.74, for a total value of $220,384.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,793 shares in the company, valued at $3,139,507.82. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.82, for a total value of $523,308.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 59,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,374,385.96. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,568 shares of company stock worth $1,818,305 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in QUALCOMM by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,596 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after buying an additional 4,955 shares during the period. Howard Bailey Securities LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,256,000. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,541,000. Finally, Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in QUALCOMM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $303,000. 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.