International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Down 1% – Time to Sell?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price dropped 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $247.67 and last traded at $247.78. Approximately 593,693 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,885,614 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on IBM shares. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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 upped their price target on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $229.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $248.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. United Bank raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 53.3% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,628 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 23,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 238 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 585,188 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $129,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,540 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,148,717,000 after purchasing an additional 294,276 shares during the period. Finally, Cadence Bank purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,653,000. 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.