International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) had its price objective boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $245.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

IBM has been the subject of several other research reports. Bernstein Bank raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. DZ Bank cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.53.

International Business Machines Trading Up 12.9 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $258.22 on Thursday. International Business Machines has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $261.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.37% and a net margin of 9.60%. Research analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 104.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in International Business Machines by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,940,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,117,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $1,034,000. 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.