International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 0% Higher - Still a Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 0% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $248.03 and last traded at $248.75. 834,157 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,721,924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $231.13.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $251.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $210.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS 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 analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm's 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 owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $242,000. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,940,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $373,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 811,062 shares of the technology company's stock worth $178,296,000 after purchasing an additional 49,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company's stock worth $16,615,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.