International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 0.3% Higher

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price was up 0.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $197.38 and last traded at $196.55. Approximately 291,012 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 4,266,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.93.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $180.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $183.79 and its 200 day moving average is $181.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $15.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.65%.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $1,019,009,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,833,642,000 after purchasing an additional 5,546,855 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 151.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $671,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,165 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $172,887,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in International Business Machines by 306.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $242,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,759 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.