International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Should You Buy?

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) were up 0.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $227.45 and last traded at $226.43. Approximately 1,031,487 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 3,219,556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $224.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on IBM. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.87.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.4 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $223.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $207.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. Research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,940,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,160,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $5,117,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.