International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.4%

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price rose 1.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $185.71 and last traded at $183.75. Approximately 4,473,654 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 37% from the average daily volume of 3,265,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Societe Generale reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.67.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $165.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $188.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.63.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.67%.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P raised its position in International Business Machines by 97.6% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 257,335 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,459,000 after acquiring an additional 127,093 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the first quarter worth $203,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in International Business Machines by 35.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 177,599 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,157,000 after acquiring an additional 46,756 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in International Business Machines by 1.9% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 95,662 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in International Business Machines by 1.5% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 382,232 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $49,698,000 after acquiring an additional 5,506 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.