International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded International Business Machines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore upgraded International Business Machines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Societe Generale reiterated a sell rating and set a $143.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $180.31.

International Business Machines Trading Down 8.0 %

NYSE:IBM opened at $169.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $188.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.97. International Business Machines has a 52 week low of $120.55 and a 52 week high of $199.18. The company has a market capitalization of $155.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.50% and a net margin of 13.18%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,940 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Arden Trust Co lifted its position in International Business Machines by 2.8% in the first quarter. Arden Trust Co now owns 1,973 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Avion Wealth lifted its position in International Business Machines by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 964 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is 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.