International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 1.3% - Should You Sell?

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) were down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $246.01 and last traded at $246.35. Approximately 791,158 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,899,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on IBM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.0 %

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 $230.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.23 and a 200-day moving average of $228.26.

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, topping 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 anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,746,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $573,306,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. 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.