International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.8% on Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) traded up 0.8% during trading on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $250.00 to $260.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $225.85 and last traded at $225.15. 600,635 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,357,243 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.26.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on IBM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on International Business Machines from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.73.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 72.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 35,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,139,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 432,215 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,752,000 after buying an additional 18,423 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines by 6.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,274,074,000 after acquiring an additional 444,698 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the second quarter worth $264,000. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $208.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $223.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The company 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 was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 97.23%.

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.