International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $276.00 to $285.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $267.43 and last traded at $266.55, with a volume of 4853284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $257.82.

IBM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Promethium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Promethium Advisors LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,700,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 57,094 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,199,000 after buying an additional 6,414 shares during the period. LGL Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $663,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 64.0% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Up 3.4%

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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $243.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.58, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. International Business Machines's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is currently 115.66%.

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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