International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.5% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) was up 0.5% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $227.84 and last traded at $226.86. Approximately 949,102 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 3,534,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.66.

The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. State Street Corp increased its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,148,717,000 after acquiring an additional 294,276 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $602,819,000 after purchasing an additional 12,400 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $573,306,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $236.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.86.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate.