International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $237.37 and last traded at $237.00, with a volume of 230505 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $234.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IBM. Bank of America boosted 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.12.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $219.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 49.7% in the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.9% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 11,935 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.2% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 6,589 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 20.1% in the second quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,713 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 37.0% in the second quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 222 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 60 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.