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

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $208.94.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bernstein Bank increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. DZ Bank lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE:IBM traded up $2.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $224.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,186,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,239,474. The business's fifty day moving average is $221.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.84. The stock has a market cap of $207.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.73. International Business Machines has a 1 year low of $157.88 and a 1 year high of $239.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. International Business Machines's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 97.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IBM. Ellenbecker Investment Group grew its position in International Business Machines by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% in the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.7% during the third quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.4% during the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 1,503 shares of the technology company's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 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.