International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.5% - Still a Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $253.31 and last traded at $252.43. Approximately 1,051,308 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 3,883,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" 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 research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $231.44.

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International Business Machines Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $230.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company's fifty day moving average is $242.61 and its 200-day moving average is $227.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JBR Co Financial Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 6,390 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 3,972 shares of the technology company's stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the technology company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Callan Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 1,870 shares of the technology company's stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.