International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 2.6% – Still a Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares traded up 2.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $249.50 and last traded at $250.36. 1,357,243 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 4,080,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.13.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $229.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $249.51 and a 200-day moving average of $231.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IBM. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $242,000. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,940,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $373,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 811,062 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $178,296,000 after purchasing an additional 49,591 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,615,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.