International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $281.75 and last traded at $281.61, with a volume of 4647195 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $276.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. KGI Securities set a $242.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $250.31.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.3%

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 company's 50-day moving average price is $250.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.66.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,137,767 shares of the technology company's stock worth $23,159,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,515 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after buying an additional 427,499 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in 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 worth $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,636,725 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,147,608,000 after acquiring an additional 524,633 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.