International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bernstein Bank boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.12.

International Business Machines Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of IBM opened at $214.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. International Business Machines has a one year low of $153.51 and a one year high of $237.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $219.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.64. The company has a market capitalization of $198.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released 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. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at $7,160,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter worth about $5,117,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $611,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 11,327 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 140,185 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,992,000 after purchasing an additional 6,004 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.