International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 0.5%

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $201.44 and last traded at $201.63. 342,761 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 4,206,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IBM. StockNews.com raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.93.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $183.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $188.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.42.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The firm had revenue of $15.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the second quarter worth $40,068,000. Creekside Partners purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the second quarter worth $584,000. Farmers National Bank boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 11.0% during the second quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 22,715 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.4% during the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 4,392 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.9% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 7,848 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.