StockNews.com Lowers International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on IBM. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $165.71 on Wednesday. International Business Machines has a 1 year low of $120.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $186.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 477,193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,045,000 after buying an additional 80,474 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 18.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,235,000 after purchasing an additional 57,170 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.2% during the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 378 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

About International Business Machines

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.