International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Announces Dividend Increase - $1.68 Per Share

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 29th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of 1.68 per share by the technology company on Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. This is a 0.6% increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67.

International Business Machines has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 29 consecutive years. International Business Machines has a dividend payout ratio of 57.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect International Business Machines to earn $11.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.9%.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM traded up $5.83 on Friday, reaching $245.49. The stock had a trading volume of 3,731,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,206,963. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $227.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The business's 50-day moving average price is $243.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.14. International Business Machines has a 12-month low of $163.53 and a 12-month high of $266.45.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. International Business Machines's quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

An institutional investor recently raised its position in International Business Machines stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,011 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $4,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IBM. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $248.50.

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.