International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 1.7% Higher – Here’s Why

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares traded up 1.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $254.63 and last traded at $252.63. 899,072 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 3,878,640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on IBM shares. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Up 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IBM. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter worth $221,000. United Bank raised its position in International Business Machines by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $241,000. Finally, Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.1% in the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.