International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on IBM. 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.53.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.4 %

IBM stock opened at $252.31 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $229.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.45. International Business Machines has a 12 month low of $162.62 and a 12 month high of $265.72. The company has a market cap of $233.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 104.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 187,647 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,485,000 after purchasing an additional 12,599 shares in the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. Olistico Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 16,548 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,658,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 849 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.