International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.5%

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shot up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $189.86 and last traded at $189.46. 601,018 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,194,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IBM. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.85.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.17. The company has a market capitalization of $175.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 98,797.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,029,001 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,553,876,000 after purchasing an additional 11,017,849 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,019,009,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,592,094 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,337,660,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,458 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 15,439.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,653,462 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $433,974,000 after buying an additional 2,636,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in International Business Machines by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,053,108 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,317,087,000 after buying an additional 1,645,235 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.