International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 3.5% – What’s Next?

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price was up 3.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $268.89 and last traded at $264.2470. Approximately 11,975,954 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 86% from the average daily volume of 6,421,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.20.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines

Here are the key news stories impacting International Business Machines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IBM unveiled a more than $10 billion quantum computing investment plan, reinforcing its leadership in an emerging high-growth market. IBM to invest $10 billion for large-scale quantum computer by 2029
• Positive Sentiment: IBM and Red Hat launched Project Lightwell, a $5 billion push to secure open-source software with AI tools and 20,000 engineers, which could strengthen its enterprise security franchise. IBM and Red Hat Commit $5 Billion to Redefine the Future of Open Source in the AI Era
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its target to $320, signaling continued analyst confidence in IBM’s upside. IBM Is Chasing A ‘$1 Trillion Value Creation Engine’ — And It’s Spending $15 Billion To Get There

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 price target on International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, HSBC raised International Business Machines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $218.00 to $231.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.41.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.98.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 37.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foster Group Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,507 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. grew its position in International Business Machines by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. now owns 905 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 0.3% in the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 10,774 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,040,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.