International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Down 9.3% on Analyst Downgrade

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares fell 9.3% on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $186.00 to $179.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as low as $165.66 and last traded at $167.06. 7,696,464 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 59% from the average session volume of 4,836,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.10.

IBM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,826 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,799,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 7,538 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 3,544 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,683 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 126,269 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,715,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $153.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $187.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.15.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

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