International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Short Interest Update

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,140,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the November 30th total of 21,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702,340 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth about $573,306,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in International Business Machines by 306.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $242,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 587.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $134,262,000 after purchasing an additional 536,785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $219.30. 208,798 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,201,144. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $202.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.73. International Business Machines has a 52 week low of $157.88 and a 52 week high of $239.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.08 and its 200 day simple moving average 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.94.

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.