International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 6.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares were down 6.4% on Wednesday, trading as low as $272.36 and closing around $272.95 on roughly 7.6 million shares — about 49% above average volume.
• IBM beat Q4 estimates with $4.52 EPS versus $4.33 expected and revenue of $19.69 billion (+12.2% YoY), and analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $330.07.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.68 ($6.72 annual, ~2.5% yield), a director purchased 1,000 shares at $304, and several large institutions materially increased stakes during the quarter.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 6.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $272.36 and last traded at $272.9510. Approximately 7,598,864 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 49% from the average daily volume of 5,114,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on IBM. UBS Group set a $317.00 target price on International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer set a $380.00 price objective on International Business Machines and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.07.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $301.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.13. The company has a market capitalization of $255.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.96.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.19. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 15.69%.The company had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.27%.

Insider Activity

In other International Business Machines news, Director David N. Farr purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $2,446,429,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in International Business Machines by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,021,912 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,523,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,976,756 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,051,475 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,019,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913,708 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 27,928.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,903,116 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $561,001,000 after buying an additional 1,896,326 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,052,880 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $861,401,000 after acquiring an additional 865,253 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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