International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,160,000 shares, a growth of 12.4% from the August 31st total of 20,610,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.4 days.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded down $2.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $220.84. 3,830,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,239,930. International Business Machines has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $224.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.23. The company has a market capitalization of $202.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.12.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.18 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IBM. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,833,642,000 after acquiring an additional 5,546,855 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,467,974,000 after buying an additional 330,694 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,274,074,000 after buying an additional 444,698 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,796,206 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $829,431,000 after acquiring an additional 304,390 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 151.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $671,352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118,165 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.