International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 1.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) rose 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $231.67 and last traded at $231.53. Approximately 1,099,386 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 4,197,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. DZ Bank downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.35.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $205.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.85%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 19,462 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,303,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.8% in the third quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.3% in the third quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 4,698 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 101,562 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,453,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its position in International Business Machines by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 285 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.