International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Short Interest Down 6.7% in January

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,620,000 shares, a drop of 6.7% from the January 15th total of 21,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1,054.5% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on IBM. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.6 %

IBM stock opened at $262.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. International Business Machines has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $265.72. The stock has a market cap of $243.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.01, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $233.32 and its 200 day moving average is $220.66.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

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.