International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 1.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Shares fell 1.4% after Stifel Nicolaus cut its price target from $340 to $290 while keeping a buy rating; the stock traded as low as $240.80.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $311.27, as firms like UBS, BMO and Bank of America recently adjusted ratings and targets.
• IBM beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $4.52 and revenue up 12.2%, pays a $1.68 quarterly dividend (2.8% yield), and insiders including Director David Farr and Michael Miebach recently purchased shares.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 1.4% during trading on Wednesday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $340.00 to $290.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as low as $240.80 and last traded at $241.6160. Approximately 4,755,440 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 5,724,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.07.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on IBM. UBS Group upgraded International Business Machines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $236.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on International Business Machines from $350.00 to $290.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Argus set a $360.00 target price on International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on International Business Machines from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $311.27.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other news, Director David N. Farr purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,814,432. The trade was a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Miebach purchased 434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.33 per share, with a total value of $101,265.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,265.22. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,484 shares of company stock valued at $417,157. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $465,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $817,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,366,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,063,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 564,188 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $167,118,000 after buying an additional 95,065 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $226.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $258.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.92.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $19.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 15.69%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a $1.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.27%.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM's principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.