International Business Machines Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:IBM)

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 44,777 call options on the company. This is an increase of 35% compared to the average daily volume of 33,200 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.12.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702,340 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $573,306,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 151.6% during 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. State Street Corp grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 306.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $242,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,759 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.1 %

IBM stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $222.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,420,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,225,306. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $219.29 and its 200-day moving average is $194.83. The company has a market cap of $205.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. International Business Machines has a 12 month low of $153.92 and a 12 month high of $237.37.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

International Business Machines Company Profile

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.