International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) dropped 1.1% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $214.75 and last traded at $217.23. Approximately 835,028 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,785,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $219.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.88.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $200.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $221.92 and a 200 day moving average of $209.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IBM. Eastern Bank increased its stake in International Business Machines by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 31,544 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,934,000 after acquiring an additional 9,091 shares during the last quarter. Persium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $679,000. Clean Yield Group grew its position in International Business Machines by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 21,563 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,740,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,891,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group raised its position in International Business Machines by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 8,190 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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.