QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Receives Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $240.00 price objective on the wireless technology company’s stock.

QCOM has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on QUALCOMM from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of QUALCOMM in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of QUALCOMM from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QUALCOMM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.32.

QUALCOMM Price Performance

NASDAQ:QCOM opened at $167.96 on Friday. QUALCOMM has a 12-month low of $146.29 and a 12-month high of $230.63. The firm has a market cap of $185.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $161.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The wireless technology company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($0.07). QUALCOMM had a net margin of 25.94% and a return on equity of 39.51%. Research analysts expect that QUALCOMM will post 9.19 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.32%.

Insider Transactions at QUALCOMM

In other news, General Counsel Ann C. Chaplin sold 2,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $409,056.44. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 19,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,121,130.68. The trade was a 11.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Neil Martin sold 1,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $202,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 94 shares in the company, valued at $14,570. This trade represents a 93.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,981 shares of company stock valued at $4,000,870. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QUALCOMM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 112,367 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $17,262,000 after purchasing an additional 4,560 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors grew its stake in QUALCOMM by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 3,993 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in QUALCOMM by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,304,594 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $200,412,000 after buying an additional 5,588 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in QUALCOMM by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 33,177 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter valued at $399,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.