International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from nineteen research firms, with varying ratings including one sell, eight holds, eight buys, and two strong buys.
• The average twelve-month price target for IBM among analysts is $268.75, with several firms increasing their target prices recently, including a rise from $290.00 to $310.00 by Stifel Nicolaus.
• IBM reported a 7.7% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, with earnings per share of $2.80, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.65.

Shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $268.75.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on IBM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.7%

IBM stock opened at $252.52 on Thursday. International Business Machines has a one year low of $186.70 and a one year high of $296.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm's fifty day moving average is $276.66 and its 200 day moving average is $257.71. The firm has a market cap of $234.69 billion, a PE ratio of 40.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.69.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.58 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.62% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% during the second quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,144 shares of the technology company's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Whelan Financial grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 1,525 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 3,964 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 6,776 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.3% in the second quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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