International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

IBM has been the subject of several other reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.06.

International Business Machines Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $266.55 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $243.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.88. International Business Machines has a 1-year low of $163.53 and a 1-year high of $268.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS 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 business had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,137,767 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,159,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,515 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after buying an additional 427,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after acquiring an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,783,281,000 after buying an additional 722,582 shares in the last quarter. 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.