Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM)

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $250.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on IBM. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.40.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.5 %

IBM opened at $229.13 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $211.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $239.35.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. Analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 1,054.5% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 134.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.