International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $248.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $276.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of IBM stock opened at $245.49 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. International Business Machines has a fifty-two week low of $163.53 and a fifty-two week high of $266.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $243.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.15. The stock has a market cap of $228.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.68 per share. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.66%.

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.