International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $267.00 to $293.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Approximately 16,909,111 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 131% from the previous session’s volume of 7,332,979 shares.The stock last traded at $219.9360 and had previously closed at $290.23.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on IBM. Wolfe Research cut shares of International Business Machines to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. KeyCorp cut International Business Machines to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.17.

More International Business Machines News

Here are the key news stories impacting International Business Machines this week:

• Negative Sentiment: IBM’s preliminary Q2 results came in below expectations, with both EPS and revenue missing estimates, triggering a steep selloff. Reuters: IBM expects second-quarter revenue below estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Management blamed the shortfall on delayed deal closures and shifting client spending, raising near-term concerns about execution and demand mix. CNBC: IBM shares drop more than 17% after company warns second-quarter earnings fell short of expectations
• Negative Sentiment: IBM’s warning is spilling over into peers such as ServiceNow, suggesting the miss may be interpreted as a broader sign of softer enterprise software spending. Benzinga: ServiceNow Stock Falls in Sympathy With IBM After Disappointing Preliminary Q2 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on IBM to $293, which signals some analyst confidence, though the firm kept an equal-weight rating. Benzinga/The Fly: IBM price target raised by Morgan Stanley

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 10.6% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 38,617 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,383,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 1,017 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Down 25.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $204.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.23% and a net margin of 15.61%.The company’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

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.