International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 2.6% - Should You Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) traded up 2.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $249.50 and last traded at $250.36. 1,357,243 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 4,080,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.13.

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International Business Machines Trading Down 2.6 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $225.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $251.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.26.

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 for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the 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 owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.