International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $208.94.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on IBM shares. DZ Bank lowered shares of 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America increased their target price on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bernstein Bank increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $224.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. International Business Machines has a twelve month low of $157.88 and a twelve month high of $239.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $221.79 and a 200 day moving average of $204.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.73.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,160,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the third quarter worth about $5,117,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter worth about $24,761,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $611,000. 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.