Morgan Stanley Cuts International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Price Target to $217.00

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $222.00 to $217.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on IBM. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.53.

International Business Machines Trading Up 12.9 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $258.22 on Tuesday. International Business Machines has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $261.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $238.76 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $225.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.55.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $520,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 93,058 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,938 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,275,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,481 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.