International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1% – Here’s Why

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) shot up 1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $297.50 and last traded at $290.4580. 4,900,019 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 7,271,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on IBM shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded International Business Machines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of International Business Machines from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $270.00 to $291.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp cut International Business Machines to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.28.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.0%

The firm has a market cap of $273.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $263.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.10. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.23% and a net margin of 15.61%.The company had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.69 dividend. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.