International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price dropped 0.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $230.95 and last traded at $231.50. Approximately 659,504 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 4,193,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on IBM. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $211.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.41.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $206.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $6,442,000. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 22,474 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,676,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $540,000. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 7,097 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Options Solutions LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Options Solutions LLC now owns 3,235 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.