International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.2%

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $169.29 and last traded at $168.87. 636,756 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 4,919,892 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $154.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of IBM. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 971.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.