International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.8% – Here’s Why

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price shot up 1.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $283.40 and last traded at $280.95. 5,276,100 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 4,730,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on IBM. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $253.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.38.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $261.07 and its 200-day moving average is $261.73. The company has a market cap of $261.12 billion, a PE ratio of 45.61, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.73.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 37.62%. The business had revenue of $16.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. International Business Machines has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. SSA Swiss Advisors AG bought a new position in International Business Machines during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 85.0% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 111 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 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.