International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on IBM. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI raised International Business Machines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore raised International Business Machines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a hold rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $178.08.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM opened at $182.27 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.68. The company has a market capitalization of $167.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines has a 1 year low of $120.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 39.55% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 98,797.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,029,001 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,553,876,000 after acquiring an additional 11,017,849 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $1,019,009,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in International Business Machines by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,592,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,337,660,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,458 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 15,439.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,653,462 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $433,974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in International Business Machines by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,053,108 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,317,087,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

About International Business Machines

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.