International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 1.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) was up 1.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $226.20 and last traded at $223.71. Approximately 724,018 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,207,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.94.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.3 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1,054.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 23,700.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 238 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in 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.