International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price traded down 1.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $246.23 and last traded at $246.25. 1,095,022 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 3,909,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.4 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.42. The stock has a market cap of $231.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after buying an additional 427,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 413.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 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.