International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Down 6.5% After Analyst Downgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shares traded down 6.5% during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $237.00 to $233.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as low as $224.44 and last traded at $229.65. 7,563,195 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 77% from the average session volume of 4,261,830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.48.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $242.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,894 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 49.1% in the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,555 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% during the first quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 69,303 shares of the technology company's stock worth $17,233,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 54.4% in the first quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 14,347 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 5,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.4 %

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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.91. The stock has a market cap of $215.59 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 104.21%.

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.