International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1% – What’s Next?

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) traded up 1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $249.45 and last traded at $249.44. 542,697 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 3,867,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $246.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.42. The stock has a market cap of $223.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.