QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) traded down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $168.80 and last traded at $168.14. 2,766,949 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 7,481,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research report on Monday, November 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Stock Down 4.4 %

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’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.67. The firm has a market cap of $183.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.25.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. Research analysts anticipate that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend 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 on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $409,056.44. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 19,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,121,130.68. This represents a 11.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.54, for a total transaction of $484,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,778 shares in the company, valued at $7,879,598.12. This represents a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,964 shares of company stock valued at $7,583,661. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CKW Financial Group purchased a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

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.