International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Down 2.1% – What’s Next?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price was down 2.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $218.47 and last traded at $218.58. Approximately 554,120 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 2,608,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.88.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $221.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.25. 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 cap of $202.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $600,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702,340 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $573,306,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 306.3% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $242,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 587.1% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $134,262,000 after buying an additional 536,785 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.