Short Interest in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Decreases By 5.6%

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) saw a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,840,000 shares, a decrease of 5.6% from the December 15th total of 23,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $224.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $222.87 and its 200-day moving average is $210.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 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 has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $239.35.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the subject of several 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 note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank raised their price objective on shares of 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, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 1,054.5% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter worth $29,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.