International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 1.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) dropped 1.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $221.43 and last traded at $221.91. Approximately 327,849 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 4,219,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $224.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank upped their target price on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.94.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $205.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.73. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $221.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.12.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid 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 yield of 3.01%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in International Business Machines by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,467,974,000 after buying an additional 330,694 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,274,074,000 after acquiring an additional 444,698 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,796,206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $829,431,000 after acquiring an additional 304,390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.