International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

IBM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $242.41.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $232.50 on Thursday. International Business Machines has a 1 year low of $162.62 and a 1 year high of $266.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $245.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a market cap of $215.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.41 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Company Profile

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.