International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 0.1% - Still a Buy?

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shot up 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $250.93 and last traded at $249.43. 414,179 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,189,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group restated a "sell" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KGI Securities set a $242.00 price objective on International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $248.50.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average is $242.99 and its 200 day moving average is $234.38. 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 firm has a market cap of $235.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 115.66%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 413.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,783,281,000 after buying an additional 722,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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