International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Down 2% – Should You Sell?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) fell 2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $217.65 and last traded at $218.31. 437,510 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,210,577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on IBM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.94.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $221.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.99.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 97.23%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellenbecker Investment Group raised its position in International Business Machines by 2.3% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 3.4% in the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 1,503 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in 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.