International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 1% – Here’s What Happened

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price rose 1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $254.32 and last traded at $252.33. Approximately 826,301 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 3,886,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on IBM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $233.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. 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’s 50 day moving average is $248.04 and its 200 day moving average is $230.76.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,589,145,000 after acquiring an additional 427,499 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently 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.