Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Up 1.3% – Here’s Why

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock price was up 1.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $131.93 and last traded at $130.35. Approximately 6,664,088 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 11,484,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on QCOM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Securities Group cut Qualcomm from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Loop Capital raised shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Qualcomm from $205.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.00.

Qualcomm Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $139.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.16 billion. Qualcomm had a return on equity of 44.09% and a net margin of 11.96%.The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.41 EPS. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Qualcomm Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.55%.

Qualcomm announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of Qualcomm stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total value of $458,787.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,599 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,202.35. The trade was a 8.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total transaction of $438,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,245,841. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,866 shares of company stock valued at $1,474,796. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualcomm

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter worth $3,145,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Qualcomm by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 64,911 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $11,103,000 after purchasing an additional 8,130 shares in the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter worth approximately $145,000. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter worth approximately $410,000. Finally, DUTCH ASSET Corp purchased a new position in shares of Qualcomm during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,563,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated is a global semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 1985, the company is known for its development of wireless technologies and for playing a central role in the evolution of digital cellular standards, including CDMA and subsequent generations of mobile standards. Qualcomm’s business combines the design and sale of semiconductor products with a patent licensing program for wireless technologies and related intellectual property.

The company’s product portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) platforms marketed under the Snapdragon brand, cellular modem and RF front-end components, connectivity solutions for Wi?Fi and Bluetooth, and processors and platforms aimed at automotive, IoT, networking and edge-computing applications.