International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on IBM. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.06.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $266.76 on Wednesday. International Business Machines has a fifty-two week low of $163.53 and a fifty-two week high of $269.28. The stock has a market cap of $247.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.62, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released 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. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,137,767 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,159,637,000 after buying an additional 1,298,515 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in International Business Machines by 413.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 6.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,636,725 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,147,608,000 after purchasing an additional 524,633 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.