International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 0.7% on Strong Earnings

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.7% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $184.16 and last traded at $183.41. Approximately 1,449,024 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 4,728,000 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.19.

The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 39.55% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI raised International Business Machines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.23.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in International Business Machines by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 477,193 shares of the technology company's stock worth $78,045,000 after buying an additional 80,474 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $52,235,000 after purchasing an additional 57,170 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.2% in the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at $661,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $168.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $188.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.98.

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.