International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 0.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) was up 0.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $224.68 and last traded at $224.33. Approximately 1,099,835 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 4,223,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on IBM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. DZ Bank downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bernstein Bank boosted 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 note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.12.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $209.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 97.23%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

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