International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares traded down 0.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $238.50 and last traded at $242.65. 2,140,712 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 3,882,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.5 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $246.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. Equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 413.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,746,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $573,306,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by 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.