International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price traded down 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $226.13 and last traded at $226.30. 755,626 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,236,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on IBM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.12.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $219.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.43. The company has a market capitalization of $209.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 8,214 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,569,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter worth about $226,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the first quarter valued at about $224,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in International Business Machines in the first quarter worth about $663,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the first quarter worth about $125,000. 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.