International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.5% – Here’s Why

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shot up 0.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $230.36 and last traded at $227.97. 690,523 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,230,763 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.12.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $210.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.71. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $220.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.86.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 20,324.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $600,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702,340 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $573,306,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 306.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $242,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,759 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in International Business Machines by 587.1% during the third 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.