Royal Bank of Canada Lowers International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Price Target to $179.00

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $188.00 to $179.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 25.60% from the stock’s previous close.

IBM has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, July 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on International Business Machines from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on International Business Machines from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.09.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $142.52 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $143.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.54. The stock has a market cap of $129.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. International Business Machines has a fifty-two week low of $120.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.21.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The technology company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.08. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 39.02% and a net margin of 11.32%. The company had revenue of $14.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 56.16% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through four business segments: Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing. The Software segment offers hybrid cloud platform and software solutions; software for business automation, AIOps and management, integration, and application servers; data and artificial intelligence solutions; and security software and services for threat, data, and identity.