International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 0.7% After Earnings Beat

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price shot up 0.7% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $184.16 and last traded at $183.41. 1,449,024 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 4,728,000 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.19.

The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on IBM. Evercore raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Societe Generale reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $143.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.23.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smith Anglin Financial LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 2.0% during the first quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 10,589 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter worth about $8,052,000. NBT Bank N A NY grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 9.4% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 48,893 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.8% in the first quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 44,582 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gemmer Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter worth about $220,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.0 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $188.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.70.

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.