International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 0.4% - Should You Sell?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) traded down 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $220.83 and last traded at $223.15. 2,618,304 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 3,043,556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $214.88.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.4 %

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $221.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.69. 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 cap of $206.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is 97.23%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1,054.5% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.