International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 2.3% - Here's What Happened

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 2.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $242.15 and last traded at $241.58. 884,518 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 4,221,952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer began coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $276.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $242.41.

International Business Machines Stock 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's 50-day moving average price is $245.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.91. The company has a market capitalization of $215.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Insider Transactions 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 dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $20,189,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,589,145,000 after buying an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 413.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,384,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,783,281,000 after acquiring an additional 722,582 shares during the last quarter. 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.