International Business Machines’ (IBM) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $270.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.66% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. HSBC cut their price target on International Business Machines from $175.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial set a $260.00 price objective on International Business Machines in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut shares of International Business Machines from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.72.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.2%

IBM traded down $2.97 on Thursday, reaching $248.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,011,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,460,871. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $232.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $234.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.73. International Business Machines has a fifty-two week low of $199.19 and a fifty-two week high of $332.46.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.82 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 35.65% and a net margin of 15.52%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that International Business Machines will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert Thomas sold 25,000 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total transaction of $5,758,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,800 shares in the company, valued at $11,009,296. The trade was a 34.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter worth about $21,586,659,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,045,055 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,760,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450,562 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in International Business Machines by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,063,653 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,893,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,602 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth $2,606,782,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 0.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,621,512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,143,245,000 after buying an additional 53,388 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting International Business Machines

Here are the key news stories impacting International Business Machines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IBM reported adjusted EPS of $2.95 and revenue of $17.10 billion, exceeding consensus estimates of approximately $2.85–$2.88 and $16.82 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 4.7% year over year, while net income rose to $2.2 billion. IBM Q3 Beat Highlights Software Growth and a Stronger Cash Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Software revenue grew about 8%–9%, Infrastructure revenue increased 4%, and management cited stronger Red Hat demand, recovering deal activity and enterprise AI momentum. IBM also raised its full-year free-cash-flow outlook, expecting growth of more than $1 billion year over year. IBM Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Software Growth and Cash Flow Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised their targets following the report: RBC reaffirmed an Outperform rating with a $270 target, JPMorgan raised its target to $269 with an Overweight rating, and Stifel lifted its target to $260 with a Buy rating.
• Positive Sentiment: IBM declared a quarterly dividend of $1.69 per share, equivalent to $6.76 annually and an indicated yield of roughly 2.7%, supporting the stock’s income appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM maintained its full-year constant-currency revenue-growth outlook of 4%–5%. The higher cash-flow forecast is encouraging, but the unchanged revenue outlook gives investors limited evidence that growth is accelerating sustainably.
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings reaction turned negative as management’s comments raised concerns about the durability of the software rebound and the pace of AI spending. A narrower-than-expected gross margin, premium valuation, debt load and slower Consulting growth are adding to investor caution. IBM falls as analysts question staying power of software rebound

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM), commonly known as IBM, is a global technology and consulting company that helps organizations modernize their information technology and business operations. Its offerings include hybrid cloud solutions, artificial intelligence software and services, enterprise software, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, data analytics, and technology consulting.

IBM provides products and services to businesses, governments, and other institutions across industries and regions worldwide.