International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Down 2.2% - Time to Sell?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $228.86 and last traded at $230.06. 1,138,758 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 4,187,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $232.75.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $221.69 billion, a PE ratio of 37.30, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.20.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 495,574 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,942,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares during the last quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at about $242,000. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,940,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $373,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 811,062 shares of the technology company's stock worth $178,296,000 after buying an additional 49,591 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

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.