Investors Buy High Volume of International Business Machines Call Options (NYSE:IBM)

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 44,777 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 35% compared to the average daily volume of 33,200 call options.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:IBM traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $222.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,420,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,225,306. The firm has a market cap of $205.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.27, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $219.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.83. International Business Machines has a 1-year low of $153.92 and a 1-year high of $237.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

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 dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 about $29,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 37.0% during the second quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 222 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on 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. DZ Bank cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bernstein Bank increased their target price on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.12.

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.