International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Down 0.5% - What's Next?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $231.41 and last traded at $231.90. 348,616 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 4,176,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, Bernstein Bank raised their target price on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $200.82.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $209.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.23. The firm has a market cap of $214.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $15.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. International Business Machines's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 75.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 6.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company's stock worth $16,833,642,000 after purchasing an additional 5,546,855 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 151.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $671,352,000 after buying an additional 2,118,165 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 306.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company's stock worth $242,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,759 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 12,282.2% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 472,382 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 468,567 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,274,074,000 after purchasing an additional 444,698 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is 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.