International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price was up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $224.68 and last traded at $224.33. Approximately 1,099,835 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 4,223,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bernstein Bank lifted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.12.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.57.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter worth approximately $2,120,000. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 59.1% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 30,242 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,775,000 after buying an additional 11,233 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 717,202 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $136,946,000 after acquiring an additional 104,771 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 2.3% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 8,214 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 13.8% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 94,887 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,120,000 after acquiring an additional 11,497 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.