International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $324.90 and last traded at $321.26, with a volume of 2105454 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $313.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on International Business Machines from $256.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $244.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on International Business Machines from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.10 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.09% and a return on equity of 37.76%. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. International Business Machines has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,776,307 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,024,243,000 after purchasing an additional 724,832 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in International Business Machines by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,536,963 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,076,406,000 after purchasing an additional 147,721 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 1.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,936,235 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,444,527,000 after purchasing an additional 400,131 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,636,725 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,147,608,000 after buying an additional 524,633 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,126,503 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,100,751,000 after purchasing an additional 234,318 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.