Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Stock Jumps 2.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) were up 2.5% on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $184.42 and last traded at $184.17. 12,050,791 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 15,053,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on QCOM shares. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Arete Research raised Qualcomm to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Qualcomm from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Qualcomm in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.83.

Qualcomm Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $177.28 and a 200-day moving average of $169.42. The firm has a market cap of $197.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The wireless technology company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.02). Qualcomm had a return on equity of 38.36% and a net margin of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.59%.

Insider Activity at Qualcomm

In other Qualcomm news, CAO Patricia Y. Grech sold 625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.85, for a total transaction of $101,781.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,872.80. This trade represents a 75.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.85, for a total value of $457,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,184 shares in the company, valued at $3,324,944.40. The trade was a 12.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 33,458 shares of company stock worth $6,198,144 in the last quarter. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trek Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Qualcomm by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in Qualcomm by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 895,323 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $164,794,000 after buying an additional 130,386 shares during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Qualcomm by 3.4% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Bank boosted its stake in Qualcomm by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 2,171 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Qualcomm by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualcomm Company Profile

Qualcomm Incorporated is a technology company that develops and commercializes wireless communications and semiconductor technologies. Through Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, the company designs integrated circuits, system software and related platforms used in smartphones, personal computers, automobiles, industrial equipment, consumer devices and other connected products. Its Snapdragon platforms support mobile computing, connectivity, artificial intelligence and multimedia applications, while its broader portfolio includes radio-frequency systems, networking and edge-computing technologies.

Qualcomm also operates a significant technology-licensing business through its Qualcomm Technology Licensing segment.