International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their outperform rating on shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $300.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on IBM. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.50.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.9 %

IBM stock opened at $249.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $231.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.78. International Business Machines has a 1-year low of $163.53 and a 1-year high of $266.45.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 115.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 9.4% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 21,546 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 28.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in International Business Machines during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,022,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 18,464 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,591,000 after acquiring an additional 3,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at $709,000. Institutional investors 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.