International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 1.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) rose 1.1% on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $270.00 to $310.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as high as $291.44 and last traded at $290.71. Approximately 568,981 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,208,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.65.

IBM has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.50.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $1,236,176,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 29,564.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,399,790 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,940,520,000 after acquiring an additional 4,384,958 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,040,057,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $960,386,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.65. The stock has a market cap of $271.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.43% and a net margin of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 115.66%.

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.