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

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $231.44.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IBM shares. Bank of America raised their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $248.15 on Monday. International Business Machines has a 1 year low of $162.62 and a 1 year high of $266.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $244.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.05. 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 $230.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.