International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $209.43 and last traded at $209.43. 579,738 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,257,636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $206.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.12.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.1 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $216.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.05. 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 firm has a market cap of $192.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. SpiderRock Advisors LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 75.6% during the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 58,206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,868,000 after buying an additional 25,053 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the third quarter worth approximately $4,897,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 32.2% during the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,486 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,087,000 after buying an additional 4,505 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in International Business Machines by 3.6% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 4,107 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the third quarter worth approximately $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.