International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• International Business Machines (IBM) shares gapped down from a previous close of $287.51 to $264.95 after the Royal Bank of Canada downgraded their price target from $315.00 to $300.00.
• Various analysts have differing ratings for IBM, with one strong buy, seven buys, eight holds, and one sell, resulting in an average rating of "Hold" with a price target of $288.31.
• IBM announced a quarterly dividend of $1.68 per share, which will be paid on December 10th, indicating an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $315.00 to $300.00. The stock had previously closed at $287.51, but opened at $264.95. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. International Business Machines shares last traded at $274.15, with a volume of 3,375,629 shares.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Melius Research raised International Business Machines to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $244.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $253.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $288.31.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,913,708 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in International Business Machines by 0.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,536,963 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,076,406,000 after purchasing an additional 147,721 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,936,235 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,444,527,000 after purchasing an additional 400,131 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the first 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 buying an additional 524,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,126,503 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,100,751,000 after buying an additional 234,318 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $258.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.78, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.73. 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 50-day moving average price of $263.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.56.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.09%.

About International Business Machines

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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