International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 1.9% – Time to Sell?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price was down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $249.93 and last traded at $252.13. Approximately 1,587,595 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 3,909,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $242.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.05. The stock has a market cap of $230.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.85, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,589,145,000 after acquiring an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after acquiring an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.