International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Earns Outperform Rating from Wedbush

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by analysts at Wedbush in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $300.00 price objective on the technology company's stock. Wedbush's target price would suggest a potential upside of 29.03% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on IBM. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $242.41.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM stock traded up $3.17 on Thursday, reaching $232.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,686,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,238,649. International Business Machines has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $215.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $245.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,589,145,000 after acquiring an additional 427,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,783,281,000 after purchasing an additional 722,582 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

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.