International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 0.5% - Time to Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) was up 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $253.00 and last traded at $251.44. Approximately 1,481,170 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 3,919,567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $239.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.40.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is 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.