International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 1.7% – Should You Buy?

Shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) traded up 1.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $309.61 and last traded at $307.82. 2,935,644 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 4,852,405 shares. The stock had previously closed at $302.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on International Business Machines from $256.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, November 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.08.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $287.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.36.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.20. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.09% and a return on equity of 37.76%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Norges Bank bought a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter worth about $2,011,122,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,040,057,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $960,386,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,045,156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,809,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,077,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,051,475 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,019,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913,708 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.