International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) rose 0.5% during trading on Monday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $215.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $224.35 and last traded at $223.70. Approximately 741,760 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 2,353,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.65.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on IBM. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Bernstein Bank increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. DZ Bank downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1,054.5% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.7 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.49. 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 market cap of $207.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

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

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.