StockNews.com Lowers International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. They set a hold rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded International Business Machines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Societe Generale reiterated a sell rating and issued a $143.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a buy rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $184.08.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $167.20 on Tuesday. International Business Machines has a 1 year low of $120.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $187.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.15. The company has a market capitalization of $153.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.50% and a net margin of 13.18%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that International Business Machines will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $1.66 dividend. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 971.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.