International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on IBM. Bernstein Bank boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.12.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $218.21. 1,760,540 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,213,449. International Business Machines has a 1-year low of $141.58 and a 1-year high of $237.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $214.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.05.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,160,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 60.8% during the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,535 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,921,000 after buying an additional 7,768 shares in the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 2,571 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth $702,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth $618,000. 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.