International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.0 %

IBM opened at $248.15 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $244.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines has a fifty-two week low of $162.62 and a fifty-two 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.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.