International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 0.4% – Here’s Why

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price dropped 0.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $265.15 and last traded at $265.57. Approximately 848,849 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 4,844,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.06.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $247.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.61, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.48.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,137,767 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,159,637,000 after buying an additional 1,298,515 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,783,281,000 after purchasing an additional 722,582 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Company Profile

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.