International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 1% - Still a Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $249.45 and last traded at $249.44. 542,697 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 3,867,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $231.44.

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International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $230.42 billion, a PE ratio of 38.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $247.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.42.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.69%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after acquiring an additional 427,499 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.