Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM)

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their outperform rating on shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $250.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on IBM. DZ Bank downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.12.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $214.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. International Business Machines has a 1 year low of $141.58 and a 1 year high of $237.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.43.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 73.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at about $7,160,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 60.8% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,535 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,921,000 after acquiring an additional 7,768 shares during the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 10.8% during the first quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 2,571 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the second quarter valued at approximately $702,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $618,000. 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.