International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $237.37 and last traded at $237.00, with a volume of 230505 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $234.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bernstein Bank increased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.12.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $219.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $221.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.02. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter worth $5,396,000. Capasso Planning Partners LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 31.8% in the third quarter. Capasso Planning Partners LLC now owns 4,737 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.4% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 16,525 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 13.6% during the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 4,399 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 22.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,622,432 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $381,683,000 after purchasing an additional 302,675 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.