International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price rose 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $225.96 and last traded at $225.09. Approximately 1,112,466 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 3,028,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.81.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. On average, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IBM. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after buying an additional 2,702,340 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth about $573,306,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 3rd 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. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 306.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $242,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 587.1% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $134,262,000 after purchasing an additional 536,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.