International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $266.45 and last traded at $261.71, with a volume of 814280 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $261.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on IBM shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $241.29 and its 200 day moving average is $226.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $245.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IBM. IronOak Wealth LLC. acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $673,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth about $1,404,000. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,775 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. 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.