International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price rose 0.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $225.06 and last traded at $224.80. Approximately 1,228,610 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 4,210,837 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on IBM shares. Bank of America increased their price target 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. DZ Bank cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.94.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $206.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.82.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines 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 directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,160,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,117,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,761,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the third quarter worth $611,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.