International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 0.4% Higher – What’s Next?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price was up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $227.20 and last traded at $223.32. Approximately 1,175,821 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 4,219,823 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.12.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.39. The firm has a market cap of $206.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 97.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in International Business Machines by 151.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $671,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,165 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter worth approximately $2,120,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 10.3% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 366,115 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $69,913,000 after buying an additional 34,319 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 303,745 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinloch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 26,619 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,083,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.