International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Down 2% After Analyst Downgrade

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) traded down 2% during trading on Thursday after Erste Group Bank downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $253.51 and last traded at $255.6530. 4,942,053 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 5,338,423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $260.79.

Several other brokerages have also commented on IBM. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $361.00 price target on International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on International Business Machines from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Argus set a $360.00 target price on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.07.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In related news, Director David N. Farr acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $304.00 per share, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814,432. The trade was a 12.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $283.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.69.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.19. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 15.69%.The business had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.27%.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.