International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares were down 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $220.83 and last traded at $221.48. Approximately 622,303 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 2,632,072 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.88.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $221.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 11,935 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the second quarter worth about $259,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 3.3% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 386,427 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,833,000 after purchasing an additional 12,428 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its position in International Business Machines by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 116,071 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,074,000 after purchasing an additional 11,190 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.