International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $211.00 to $250.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $235.83 and last traded at $233.87, with a volume of 468761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.30.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bernstein Bank lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.41.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 164.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 198 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $214.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The firm had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

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.