International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Down 3% Following Analyst Downgrade

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) shares fell 3% on Friday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The company traded as low as $210.22 and last traded at $212.54. 13,070,110 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 62% from the average session volume of 8,048,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $219.05.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on IBM. Argus lowered their target price on International Business Machines from $360.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded International Business Machines to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Piper Sandler upgraded International Business Machines to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut International Business Machines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 price target on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.89.

Key International Business Machines News

Here are the key news stories impacting International Business Machines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IBM launched new Power server products aimed at automation, app modernization, and local AI inferencing, which could support its enterprise AI push over time.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan kept an overweight rating on IBM even after cutting its price target to $250, indicating Wall Street still sees upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say the stock’s sharp decline may have pushed it into oversold territory, which could attract bargain hunters if sentiment stabilizes.
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM heads into its July 22 earnings report with investors focused on whether the company can validate its AI and cloud momentum after the warning.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Zacks and others are debating whether the selloff is an opportunity or a sign to wait, reflecting uncertainty rather than a clear fundamental shift.
• Negative Sentiment: IBM’s preliminary Q2 miss and weak near-term outlook are the main reasons the stock is falling, as they suggest slower growth and margin pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have announced securities-fraud investigations after the plunge, which can keep negative headlines around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is turning more cautious, with some estimate reductions and technical warnings reinforcing bearish momentum.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,216,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,796,390,000 after buying an additional 1,439,824 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,996,293 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,290,452,000 after acquiring an additional 518,321 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,605,083 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,679,105,000 after acquiring an additional 336,069 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,021,912 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,523,720,000 after acquiring an additional 4,976,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 7.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,063,653 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,893,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Down 3.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $199.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $263.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.58.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.23% and a net margin of 15.61%.International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.