QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Research Coverage Started at Benchmark

Benchmark began coverage on shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $200.00 target price on the wireless technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut QUALCOMM from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on QUALCOMM from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on QUALCOMM from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $158.86.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $163.30 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $165.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.10. The stock has a market cap of $182.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.56. QUALCOMM has a one year low of $101.47 and a one year high of $177.59.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.50 billion. QUALCOMM had a return on equity of 38.06% and a net margin of 21.39%. On average, analysts forecast that QUALCOMM will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. QUALCOMM’s payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In related news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 689 shares in the company, valued at $103,232.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other QUALCOMM news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.39, for a total value of $1,275,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 269,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,018,245.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,260 shares of company stock valued at $5,973,728. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Grandview Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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. raised its holdings in QUALCOMM by 0.6% during the first quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,899 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. VERITY Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in QUALCOMM by 0.8% during the first quarter. VERITY Wealth Advisors now owns 7,795 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transform Wealth LLC raised its holdings in QUALCOMM by 2.3% during the first quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.