QUALCOMM Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:QCOM)

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 70,902 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 20% compared to the typical daily volume of 58,944 call options.

Insider Activity at QUALCOMM

In other news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the 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 owns 689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,232.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the firm’s 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the 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 sale, 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 have sold 44,260 shares of company stock valued at $7,429,728 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QCOM. Peoples Bank OH acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $629,000. Bank Hapoalim BM raised its stake in shares of QUALCOMM by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 35,423 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $5,123,000 after acquiring an additional 9,192 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in QUALCOMM by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 20,677 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 11,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 45,570 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $6,591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,818 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

QUALCOMM stock opened at $179.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.59. QUALCOMM has a fifty-two week low of $101.47 and a fifty-two week high of $183.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The company has a market cap of $200.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.33.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.50 billion. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 23.03% and a return on equity of 37.09%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that QUALCOMM will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is 43.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of QUALCOMM in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.36.

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.