Morgan Stanley Lowers International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Price Target to $217.00

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $222.00 to $217.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the technology company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $220.40.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.5 %

IBM traded up $3.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,019,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,872,003. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines has a twelve month low of $162.62 and a twelve month high of $239.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $224.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.44.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. Analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.16 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 approximately $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 accessible through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 40.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,940,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at about $5,117,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company's stock worth $16,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares during the period. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $1,034,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by 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.