International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.1%

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares were up 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $191.93 and last traded at $191.06. Approximately 489,712 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 5,167,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $143.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.85.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $175.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $186.79 and its 200-day moving average is $164.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.29 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IBM. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 18.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,235,000 after acquiring an additional 57,170 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at $661,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 33.6% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 32,245 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,524,000 after acquiring an additional 8,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 19,692 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 6,397 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.