International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 0.9% – Should You Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares were up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $235.74 and last traded at $235.44. Approximately 456,765 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 4,189,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.82.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.12.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 75.65%.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,160,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 60.8% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,535 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after buying an additional 7,768 shares during the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY boosted its position in International Business Machines by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 2,571 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $702,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at $618,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.