QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Trading Down 0.9% After Insider Selling

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

Specifically, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of QUALCOMM stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,232.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.83, for a total value of $55,586.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,232.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO James H. Thompson sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $1,456,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 253,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,208,526. 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 three months. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on QCOM. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on QUALCOMM from $180.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded QUALCOMM from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $165.00 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 issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, QUALCOMM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.36.

QUALCOMM Stock Performance

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

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.43. QUALCOMM had a net margin of 23.03% and a return on equity of 38.24%. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.50 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that QUALCOMM Incorporated will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of QUALCOMM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of QUALCOMM by 102.5% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 241 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in QUALCOMM during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 74.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.