International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 1.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) traded up 1.5% during trading on Friday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $215.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $223.58 and last traded at $223.19. 1,513,678 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 2,005,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $219.94.

Several other research analysts have also commented on IBM. DZ Bank lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $210.65.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 1,054.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.89. The stock has a market cap of $205.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.73.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

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.