International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Price Target Raised to $285.00

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $276.00 to $285.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the technology company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.21% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, KGI Securities set a $242.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.06.

International Business Machines Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE IBM traded up $8.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $265.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,682,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,208,988. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. International Business Machines has a fifty-two week low of $163.53 and a fifty-two week high of $266.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.46, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Capital World Investors increased 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,236,176,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 29,564.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,399,790 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,940,520,000 after acquiring an additional 4,384,958 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,040,057,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the first quarter valued at approximately $960,386,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

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.

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