International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Upgraded at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. 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 Monday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $252.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. International Business Machines has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $266.45. The firm has a market cap of $234.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $245.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.33.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 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.