International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Down 1% – What’s Next?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price fell 1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $247.67 and last traded at $247.78. 593,693 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 3,885,614 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock 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 fifty day moving average is $248.65 and its 200 day moving average is $230.90. The company has a market cap of $229.04 billion, a PE ratio of 38.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in 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 buying an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.