International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.6% – Time to Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares shot up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $226.71 and last traded at $226.30. 727,332 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 2,470,497 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. DZ Bank downgraded 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. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.88.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.97%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Ellenbecker Investment Group grew its position in International Business Machines by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.4% in the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 1,503 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.