International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 2.6% After Earnings Beat

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 2.6% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $249.34 and last traded at $247.12. 1,577,629 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 4,229,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.90.

The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.41 billion.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "sell" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $276.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $242.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Wealthstar Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.1% during the first quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 3,254 shares of the technology company's stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 1st quarter worth about $242,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its position in International Business Machines by 2.8% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 6,799 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 7.0% during the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.7% in the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 10,598 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,586,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.1 %

The business's fifty day moving average is $245.94 and its 200-day moving average is $233.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $212.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67.

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.