International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.5%

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $189.86 and last traded at $189.46. 601,018 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,194,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and issued a $143.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Evercore upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.85.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $186.79 and a 200-day moving average of $164.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 39.55% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.60 EPS. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.