Jefferies Financial Group Cuts International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Price Target to $265.00

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) had its target price cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $270.00 to $265.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on IBM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of 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. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.13.

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International Business Machines Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of IBM stock traded down $4.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $245.25. The stock had a trading volume of 3,017,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,110,271. International Business Machines has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $251.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, analysts predict that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 104.21%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $242,000. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $1,940,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $373,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 811,062 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $178,296,000 after buying an additional 49,591 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 4,625 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.