StockNews.com Upgrades International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) to Buy

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on IBM. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $173.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $171.11 and a 200-day moving average of $175.93. 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 12 month low of $129.18 and a 12 month high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 477,193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,045,000 after buying an additional 80,474 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,235,000 after buying an additional 57,170 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 378 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 19,692 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 6,397 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.