International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $186.00 to $179.00. The stock had previously closed at $184.10, but opened at $168.20. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. International Business Machines shares last traded at $167.30, with a volume of 6,297,897 shares changing hands.

IBM has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 164.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 198 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 56.9% in the first quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 204 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $153.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.15.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.50% and a net margin of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.20%.

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.