International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 0.9%

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price traded down 0.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $166.29 and last traded at $166.73. 764,209 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,886,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore raised International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Wedbush increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $152.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $184.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 477,193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,045,000 after buying an additional 80,474 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 18.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,235,000 after acquiring an additional 57,170 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.2% during the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 378 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.