International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price traded up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $226.20 and last traded at $223.71. 724,018 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 4,207,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.94.

International Business Machines Trading Up 2.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $208.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $600,373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702,340 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $573,306,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in 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 worth $242,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 587.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $134,262,000 after acquiring an additional 536,785 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.