International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 1% – What’s Next?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares shot up 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $254.32 and last traded at $252.33. 826,301 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 3,886,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IBM shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush started coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $226.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.