International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Short Interest Update

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,140,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the November 30th total of 21,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.94.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM opened at $219.83 on Thursday. International Business Machines has a 52-week low of $157.88 and a 52-week high of $239.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $203.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $220.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.80.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 1,054.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 240 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.