International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $253.24 on Thursday. International Business Machines has a 52-week low of $162.62 and a 52-week high of $265.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.16 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $237.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.