QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $206.00. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. QUALCOMM traded as high as $181.25 and last traded at $180.78, with a volume of 6144347 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $164.11.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their target price on QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI began coverage on QUALCOMM in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.36.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

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 transaction 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 $103,232.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total transaction of $55,586.93. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 689 shares in the company, valued at $103,232.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.39, for a total transaction of $1,275,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 269,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,018,245.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,260 shares of company stock worth $7,429,728 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QCOM. Grandview Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,899 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,676,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. VERITY Wealth Advisors grew its stake in QUALCOMM by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. VERITY Wealth Advisors now owns 7,795 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in QUALCOMM by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,874 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised 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 worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.11. The company has a market cap of $200.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.33.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.50 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.24% and a net margin of 23.03%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This is an increase from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is 49.28%.

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.