International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.8% – Here’s Why

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) shares traded up 1.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $309.18 and last traded at $308.6750. 1,688,822 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 4,874,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $303.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on International Business Machines from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Erste Group Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $256.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on International Business Machines from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.08.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $293.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.03. The company has a market cap of $288.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.92, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.20. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.76% and a net margin of 12.09%.The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. International Business Machines has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in International Business Machines by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,622 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,565,000. Edgar Lomax Co. VA raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 5.7% during the first quarter. Edgar Lomax Co. VA now owns 235,967 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,676,000 after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,051,475 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,019,274,000 after buying an additional 1,913,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thames Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,710,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently 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.