International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 1.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• IBM's shares fell by 1.3% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock's price target from $256.00 to $252.00.
• While the current consensus rating for IBM is Hold, analysts have mixed views, with one Strong Buy, seven Buy, eight Hold, and one Sell rating.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations, with a revenue of $16.33 billion and $2.65 earnings per share (EPS).

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) fell 1.3% on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $256.00 to $252.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as low as $263.56 and last traded at $283.91. 16,643,693 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 247% from the average session volume of 4,802,333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.51.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on International Business Machines from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on International Business Machines from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Whelan Financial raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.4% during the second quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 1,525 shares of the technology company's stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 3,964 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.0% during the third quarter. Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the technology company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TI Trust Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.8% during the third quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 4,492 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $263.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.09, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $263.92 and a 200 day moving average of $262.56.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.10 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 37.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. International Business Machines has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $1.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 109.09%.

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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