International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Given New $228.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $217.00 to $228.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on IBM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on International Business Machines from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.53.

International Business Machines Trading Up 12.9 %

NYSE:IBM opened at $258.22 on Thursday. International Business Machines has a 12 month low of $162.62 and a 12 month high of $261.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $225.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.76 billion, a PE ratio of 40.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.37% and a net margin of 9.60%. Research analysts predict that International Business Machines will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 104.21%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,940,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,117,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,615,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $1,034,000. 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.