International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 1.7% – What’s Next?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price was up 1.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $254.63 and last traded at $252.63. Approximately 899,072 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,878,640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Down 2.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $228.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $245.29 and a 200 day moving average of $229.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $242,000. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,940,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $373,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 811,062 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $178,296,000 after acquiring an additional 49,591 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Company Profile

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.