International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.3% - Here's What Happened

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $229.67 and last traded at $230.07. Approximately 1,545,151 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 4,268,827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on IBM. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $242.41.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $244.78 and its 200 day moving average is $233.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $221.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is 114.97%.

Insider Activity

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Callan Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 29.0% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 84,668 shares of the technology company's stock worth $21,052,000 after buying an additional 19,040 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 1st quarter valued at about $138,000. Argentarii LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 14.6% in the first quarter. Argentarii LLC now owns 9,950 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.2% in the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the technology company's stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.