International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $216.87.

Several research firms recently weighed in on IBM. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1,054.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded up $2.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $224.73. The stock had a trading volume of 5,481,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,994,162. International Business Machines has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $239.35. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $222.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $207.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The business'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 will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

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.