International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.8% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• IBM shares increased by 1.8% on recent trading, with a last traded price of $280.95, driven by a 12% increase in trading volume.
• Analysts have varied opinions on IBM’s future, with price target upgrades from $195 to $310, while maintaining a consensus rating of "Hold".
• IBM reported a quarterly EPS of $2.80, surpassing estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.7%, setting positive expectations for FY 2025 earnings.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $283.40 and last traded at $280.95. 5,276,100 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 4,730,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IBM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $244.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $286.38.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $260.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.73.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 37.62%. The business had revenue of $16.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. International Business Machines has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $1.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 109.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SSA Swiss Advisors AG bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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