International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 1.1% - Here's What Happened

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $225.96 and last traded at $225.09. Approximately 1,112,466 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 3,028,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $215.81.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.9 %

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 stock has a market cap of $207.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $222.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.89.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. International Business Machines's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is 97.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in International Business Machines by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,467,974,000 after buying an additional 330,694 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,274,074,000 after acquiring an additional 444,698 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,148,717,000 after acquiring an additional 294,276 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company's stock worth $602,819,000 after acquiring an additional 12,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

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.