Traders Buy Large Volume of International Business Machines Call Options (NYSE:IBM)

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 44,777 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 35% compared to the typical volume of 33,200 call options.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $223.02. 5,320,339 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,238,078. International Business Machines has a 52 week low of $153.92 and a 52 week high of $237.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $206.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $219.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.21.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. International Business Machines's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ellenbecker Investment Group raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the technology company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 1,503 shares of the technology company's stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. DZ Bank lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded International Business Machines to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $208.12.

About International Business Machines

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.