Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $237.00 to $233.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the technology company's stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $242.41.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.4 %

International Business Machines stock traded up $3.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $232.50. 6,686,362 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,238,649. International Business Machines has a 12 month low of $162.62 and a 12 month high of $266.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $245.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. Analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 18.9% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,894 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,555 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 69,303 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,233,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 54.4% during the first quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 14,347 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 5,053 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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.