QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on QCOM. TD Cowen upped their target price on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an in-line rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.36.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

NASDAQ QCOM opened at $179.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $200.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. QUALCOMM has a twelve month low of $101.47 and a twelve month high of $183.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.11.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.43. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 37.09% and a net margin of 23.03%. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.50 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that QUALCOMM will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,232.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,232.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.39, for a total transaction of $1,275,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 269,893 shares in the company, valued at $43,018,245.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,260 shares of company stock worth $7,429,728 over the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Grandview Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 2.3% during the first quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,899 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. VERITY Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. VERITY Wealth Advisors now owns 7,795 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,874 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its position in QUALCOMM by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,745 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. 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.