International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 1.5% After Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) was up 1.5% during trading on Friday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $260.00 to $300.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $287.16 and last traded at $286.37. Approximately 971,154 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 4,440,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.00.

IBM has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.19.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the second quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,144 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% during the first quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 6,776 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.3% during the second quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the technology company's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 3,972 shares of the technology company's stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 20.8% during the first quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 232 shares of the technology company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $265.84 billion, a PE ratio of 49.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.43% and a net margin of 8.71%. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $1.68 per share. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.66%.

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.