International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 0.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price shot up 0.8% on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $160.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $221.68 and last traded at $219.51. 562,852 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 2,943,095 shares. The stock had previously closed at $217.75.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. DZ Bank cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.81.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1,054.5% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the third quarter worth $29,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $222.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $205.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.23%.

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.