QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Benchmark

Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $200.00 price target on the wireless technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on QCOM. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of QUALCOMM from $173.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of QUALCOMM from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of QUALCOMM from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $158.86.

QUALCOMM Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of QCOM opened at $165.66 on Tuesday. QUALCOMM has a 52-week low of $101.47 and a 52-week high of $177.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $165.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.47. The stock has a market cap of $184.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.41.

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The wireless technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 21.39% and a return on equity of 38.06%. Research analysts forecast that QUALCOMM will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

QUALCOMM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This is a boost from QUALCOMM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. QUALCOMM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QUALCOMM news, CAO Neil Martin sold 371 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 available through this link. In other 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $103,232.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cristiano R. Amon sold 8,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.50, for a total value of $1,291,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,300 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,260 shares of company stock valued at $5,973,728 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QUALCOMM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QCOM. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its position in QUALCOMM by 327.1% during the 4th quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 205 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in QUALCOMM during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of QUALCOMM during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of QUALCOMM by 95.0% during the 4th quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 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.