International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Wedbush in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $300.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.00% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $170.00 target price (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.50.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM stock opened at $254.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.67. International Business Machines has a 52-week low of $163.53 and a 52-week high of $266.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,589,145,000 after buying an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,783,281,000 after acquiring an additional 722,582 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.