International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 1.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $248.49 and last traded at $247.44. 759,236 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,888,613 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.00, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.76.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 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.