International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 0.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $215.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $224.35 and last traded at $223.70. 741,760 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 2,353,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.65.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on IBM. Bernstein Bank increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.88.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ellenbecker Investment Group lifted its position in International Business Machines by 2.3% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.4% during the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 1,503 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $206.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $220.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.78.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

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.