International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Lowered to Hold Rating by Erste Group Bank

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) was downgraded by stock analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

IBM has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $361.00 price objective on International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $304.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer set a $380.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on International Business Machines from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.07.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE IBM traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $258.77. 455,600 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,252,200. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. International Business Machines has a 1 year low of $214.50 and a 1 year high of $324.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $297.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $284.32.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.33 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In related news, Director David N. Farr bought 1,000 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $304.00 per share, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814,432. This trade represents a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $2,446,429,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,021,912 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,523,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,976,756 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,617,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,663,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553,552 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,051,475 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,019,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913,708 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 27,928.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,903,116 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $561,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896,326 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Company Profile

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.