Morgan Stanley Lowers International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Price Target to $233.00

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $237.00 to $233.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the technology company's stock.

IBM has been the topic of several other research reports. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $242.41.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE:IBM traded up $3.74 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $236.15. 3,646,205 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,217,298. International Business Machines has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $266.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $245.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $218.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The company 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 114.97%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.9% during the first quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,011 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the technology company's stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Clarity Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter worth about $276,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 15,083 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,751,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the first quarter worth about $221,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About International Business Machines

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.