QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 0.9% Following Insider Selling

Shares of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) fell 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $177.91 and last traded at $178.43. 3,668,561 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 8,675,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.10.

Specifically, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $1,456,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 253,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,208,526. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $1,456,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 253,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,208,526. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total transaction of $55,586.93. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,232.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,260 shares of company stock worth $7,429,728 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on QCOM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, QUALCOMM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.36.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.65. The company has a market cap of $200.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.59.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.43. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 23.03% and a return on equity of 37.09%. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.50 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This is a boost from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 102.5% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 241 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 327.1% in the 4th quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 205 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 95.0% in the 4th quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 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.