International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $215.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. 1,209,950 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 1,864,268 shares.The stock last traded at $222.83 and had previously closed at $219.94.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bernstein Bank raised their target price on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter worth about $364,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,675 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,959,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 211.6% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,022 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 6,127 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,588 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,658,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $220.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.80. The company has a market capitalization of $205.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.73.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

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.