International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $237.00 to $233.00. The stock had previously closed at $245.48, but opened at $231.18. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. International Business Machines shares last traded at $231.15, with a volume of 5,791,240 shares traded.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $276.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $242.41.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing 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 worth approximately $35,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $215.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $245.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.91.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

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.