Morgan Stanley Raises International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Price Target to $228.00

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) had its price target boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $217.00 to $228.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 10.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on 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. Bernstein Bank upped their target price on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.53.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM opened at $255.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $225.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $261.80.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 40.37%. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 128.6% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 8,558 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,814 shares in the last quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,790,000. Sage Advisors LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 22.4% during the third quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 50,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,189,000 after buying an additional 9,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. 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.