International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Up 1.2% – Still a Buy?

Shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) were up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $252.20 and last traded at $249.3320. Approximately 5,653,793 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 6,054,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on IBM. Argus set a $360.00 price objective on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on International Business Machines from $312.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.87.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.2%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.84. The firm has a market cap of $233.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.19. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 15.69%.The firm had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 60.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, Director Michael Miebach bought 434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $233.33 per share, with a total value of $101,265.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,265.22. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David N. Farr bought 1,000 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814,432. The trade was a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 1,484 shares of company stock valued at $417,157 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.