International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price rose 0.2% during trading on Friday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $250.00 to $260.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $226.63 and last traded at $226.58. Approximately 606,906 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 3,368,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.04.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. 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 note on Monday, September 30th. DZ Bank lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.73.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 72.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 35,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,139,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 432,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $74,752,000 after buying an additional 18,423 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.4% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth about $264,000. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $209.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $223.94 and its 200-day moving average is $212.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The business 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. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.