International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $178.67.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM opened at $181.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.63. International Business Machines has a 52-week low of $120.55 and a 52-week high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.29 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.60 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that International Business Machines will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.67%.

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.