International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an underperform rating and a $145.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of International Business Machines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore raised International Business Machines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded up $1.02 on Thursday, reaching $165.71. 3,400,405 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,768,629. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. International Business Machines has a 1-year low of $120.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18. The firm has a market cap of $152.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $185.75 and a 200-day moving average of $171.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 75.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 164.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 198 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 75.0% in the first quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 203 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.