International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 0.8% on Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Bernstein Bank raised their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $210.00. Bernstein Bank currently has a market perform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $221.82 and last traded at $221.53. Approximately 847,675 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 4,209,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $219.73.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.35.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,833,642,000 after buying an additional 5,546,855 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in International Business Machines by 151.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $671,352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118,165 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in International Business Machines by 306.3% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $242,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,759 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 12,282.2% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 472,382 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 468,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,274,074,000 after acquiring an additional 444,698 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.27. The company has a market capitalization of $207.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The business had revenue of $15.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 75.65%.

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.