International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Down 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) fell 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $220.83 and last traded at $223.15. 2,618,304 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 3,043,556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IBM. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.88.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $202.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was 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 the stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth $279,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 33,578 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,807,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 116.0% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,218 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.