International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Now Covered by Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an underperform rating and a $145.00 price target on the technology company's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on IBM. Evercore raised International Business Machines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of IBM traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $164.73. 3,826,681 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,997,550. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $151.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.82. International Business Machines has a 52-week low of $120.55 and a 52-week high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 75.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,076,195 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,515,290,000 after purchasing an additional 365,388 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 13.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,280,968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,919,490 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in International Business Machines by 4.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,970,674 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,398,886,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,465,214 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,048,631,000 after purchasing an additional 61,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,345,842 shares of the technology company's stock worth $890,322,000 after buying an additional 871,247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

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.