International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 2.6% – Time to Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares shot up 2.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $241.77 and last traded at $241.57. 598,689 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,204,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $276.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $232.75.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.02. The company has a market capitalization of $222.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in International Business Machines by 413.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $1,236,176,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 29,564.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,399,790 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,940,520,000 after acquiring an additional 4,384,958 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $592,746,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.