International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Given New $265.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) had its target price trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $270.00 to $265.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on IBM. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.13.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $249.19 on Monday. International Business Machines has a 1-year low of $162.62 and a 1-year high of $266.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.06 billion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.88.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. JBR Co Financial Management Inc raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 6,390 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 3,972 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Capital LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 1,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.