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

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $189.74 and last traded at $189.71. 663,498 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,210,957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 5th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.85.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market cap of $174.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 97.6% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 257,335 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,459,000 after purchasing an additional 127,093 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 1st quarter worth $203,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 35.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 177,599 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,157,000 after purchasing an additional 46,756 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 95,662 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,438,000 after buying an additional 1,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 382,232 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $49,698,000 after buying an additional 5,506 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.