International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 1.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) was up 1.4% during trading on Tuesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $270.00 to $290.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $277.00 and last traded at $275.84. Approximately 1,260,175 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 4,208,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.08.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on IBM. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IBM. Blue Edge Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% in the first quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 6,776 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 6,390 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 3,972 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc raised its stake in International Business Machines by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,805 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $261.73 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $250.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.96.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. 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.