International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 0.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) traded up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $233.19 and last traded at $232.79. 930,312 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 4,167,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on IBM shares. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $211.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on International Business Machines from $182.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.71.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $213.86 and its 200-day moving average is $189.75. The firm has a market cap of $213.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 75.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,833,642,000 after acquiring an additional 5,546,855 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,467,974,000 after purchasing an additional 330,694 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,274,074,000 after buying an additional 444,698 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,796,206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $829,431,000 after acquiring an additional 304,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 151.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $671,352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118,165 shares during the last quarter. 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.