International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading 1.7% Higher - Still a Buy?

Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shot up 1.7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $254.63 and last traded at $252.63. 899,072 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 3,878,640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped 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, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.44.

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International Business Machines Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $246.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $226.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. JBR Co Financial Management Inc grew 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 valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. grew 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 valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $1,396,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC grew 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 valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 1,870 shares of the technology company's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 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.