Erste Group Bank Upgrades International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) to “Strong-Buy”

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) was upgraded by equities researchers at Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on IBM. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wedbush started coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $246.80 on Monday. International Business Machines has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $245.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,589,145,000 after buying an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. 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.