Morgan Stanley Cuts International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Price Target to $233.00

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $237.00 to $233.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

IBM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $276.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $242.41.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.4 %

IBM stock opened at $232.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $215.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. International Business Machines has a 12 month low of $162.62 and a 12 month high of $266.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $245.34 and its 200 day moving average is $233.91.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.9% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,894 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% in the first quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 69,303 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,233,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 54.4% during the first quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 14,347 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 5,053 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.