Traders Purchase Large Volume of International Business Machines Call Options (NYSE:IBM)

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 145,283 call options on the company. This is an increase of 210% compared to the typical volume of 46,814 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 477,193 shares of the technology company's stock worth $78,045,000 after purchasing an additional 80,474 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company's stock worth $52,235,000 after acquiring an additional 57,170 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 378 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the technology company's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.9 %

IBM traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $169.90. 3,473,794 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,933,335. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $156.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines has a one year low of $120.55 and a one year high of $199.18. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $185.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.88.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. International Business Machines's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines's payout ratio is currently 75.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 25th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $181.29.

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.