International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Upgraded at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on International Business Machines from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, November 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.08.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $308.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $296.91 and a 200-day moving average of $276.54. The firm has a market cap of $287.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. International Business Machines has a twelve month low of $214.50 and a twelve month high of $324.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.10 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.09% and a return on equity of 37.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $1.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 80.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after buying an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 1st quarter valued at about $398,000. WBH Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. WBH Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 190.6% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 4,934 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wambolt & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 122.1% in the 1st quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.