International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0% – Should You Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares shot up 0% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $256.17 and last traded at $255.91. 448,009 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,634,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on IBM. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush began coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

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 company has a market cap of $241.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $232.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.25.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,105,000. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $466,000. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $138,000. Finally, Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $245,000. 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.