International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Down 3.5% – Should You Sell?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) fell 3.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $237.22 and last traded at $243.39. 2,248,470 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 3,868,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on IBM. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $245.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market cap of $224.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.