International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.1% - Still a Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shot up 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $278.89 and last traded at $279.41. 889,226 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 4,632,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $276.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KGI Securities set a $242.00 target price on International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $170.00 target price (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $250.31.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.5%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $252.60 and a 200 day moving average of $243.78. 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 capitalization of $257.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.66.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion during 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%. International Business Machines's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 41.5% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 167 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 51.9% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 313 shares of the technology company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 17.8% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,477 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. Parkshore Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the first quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 25.8% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 164,539 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,210,000 after purchasing an additional 33,725 shares during the last quarter. 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.