International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 6.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares fell 6.3% during trading on Thursday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $216.29 and last traded at $218.18. 4,330,480 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 4,192,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.75.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 37.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 222 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc lifted its position in International Business Machines by 54.3% in the 2nd quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 284 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $197.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

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.