International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 0.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price was up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $160.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $221.68 and last traded at $219.51. Approximately 562,852 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 2,943,095 shares. The stock had previously closed at $217.75.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on IBM. Bank of America increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1,054.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $203.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $222.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

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.