International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $215.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Approximately 1,209,950 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 1,864,268 shares.The stock last traded at $222.83 and had previously closed at $219.94.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America raised their target price on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DZ Bank lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 40.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,160,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,117,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth about $24,761,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $611,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.80.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

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.