International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 2.6% – Time to Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price was up 2.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $249.50 and last traded at $250.36. Approximately 1,357,243 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 4,080,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.13.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $250.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.13. The company has a market cap of $232.13 billion, a PE ratio of 39.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Bank raised its stake in International Business Machines by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,628 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after buying an additional 1,956 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in International Business Machines by 21.1% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,304 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 58.8% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 5,330 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 14.8% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 27,081 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,987,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,423,795 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $314,762,000 after purchasing an additional 85,707 shares during the period. 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.