International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $211.00 to $250.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $235.83 and last traded at $233.87, with a volume of 468761 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $234.30.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on IBM. Hsbc Global Res upgraded International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bernstein Bank lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. DZ Bank cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,833,642,000 after purchasing an additional 5,546,855 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in International Business Machines by 4.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,467,974,000 after acquiring an additional 330,694 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in International Business Machines by 6.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,796,206 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $829,431,000 after acquiring an additional 304,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in International Business Machines by 151.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $671,352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118,165 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $214.94 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $206.79 and a 200 day moving average of $187.34.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $15.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 73.65%.

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.