QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading 2.1% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s share price traded up 2.1% during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $170.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. QUALCOMM traded as high as $160.41 and last traded at $161.43. 1,739,442 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 8,499,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.09.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $179.00 to $157.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $250.00 to $216.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $245.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.00.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In related news, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.28, for a total value of $537,546.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 46,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,490,810.88. This trade represents a 6.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Heather S. Ace sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.74, for a total transaction of $220,384.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,793 shares in the company, valued at $3,139,507.82. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 424,747 shares of company stock worth $8,402,174 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its position in QUALCOMM by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,110 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 477 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $177.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The wireless technology company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $10.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.58 billion. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 26.11% and a return on equity of 40.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 2.21%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

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.