Traders Buy Large Volume of International Business Machines Call Options (NYSE:IBM)

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 83,455 call options on the company. This is an increase of 155% compared to the typical volume of 32,677 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IBM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.93.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $172,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 354.0% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 87,038 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,235,000 after purchasing an additional 67,867 shares during the period. Optas LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,177 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 1,557 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $606,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded up $5.81 on Thursday, hitting $192.61. The stock had a trading volume of 3,700,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,422,777. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $177.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.54. The stock has a market cap of $176.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. International Business Machines has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The business had revenue of $15.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

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.