On May 17th, 2023, shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) opened at $123.46. With a market cap of $112.11 billion, the company’s 12-month low is at $115.54 and the high is at $153.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price stands at $126.42 while its two-hundred day moving average price sits at $135.45. Furthermore, IBM has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.
In terms of equities research analysts’ reports on the stock, Stifel Nicolaus recently lowered their price objective from $150 to $140 while maintaining a “buy” rating on the stock in April, and Edward Jones cut shares of IBM from a “buy” to a “hold” rating back in February. Looking back to January when Citigroup increased their price target for IBM from $140 to $145 with a “neutral” rating; Credit Suisse Group also reduced their target price from $165 to $162 with an “outperform” rating on the stock.
One equities research analyst rated IBM as a sell whereas six labelled it as hold and only two deemed it as buy with the average recommendation standing at “hold” according to data from Bloomberg.com with an average price target of $139.20.
Institutional investors such as Vanguard Group Inc., State Street Corp, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc., Morgan Stanley and Geode Capital Management LLC have made changes on their holdings for IBM lately.
The tech company’s earnings results for Q1-2023 were last announced on April 19th where they reported EPS (Earnings per share) of $1.36 which was higher than consensus estimates by nine cents ($1.27). The revenue was reported to be $14.25 billion whereas analysts predicted it to be $14.33 billion; this is a .4% increase from the same quarter last year. Moreover, IBM’s net margin stands at 3.03% with a return on equity of 39.86%.
IBM has been in business since 1911 and has had a strong presence in the technology industry. The company is known for having made an immense contribution to early computer technology and is constantly adapting its business model to thrive in an ever-changing world of modern technology which makes it a viable investment opportunity for those looking to invest in established companies within the tech industry.
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Zacks Research Predicts Decrease in IBM Q2 Earnings, Despite Recent Dividend Increase
On May 15th of 2023, analysts at Zacks Research released a report that forecasted a decrease in earnings for International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) during Q2 of the same year. According to S. Bose, a Zacks Research analyst, the technology company was expected to post earnings of $1.95 per share for the quarter – this is down from their previous estimate of $1.99.
The consensus estimate for IBM’s current full-year earnings stands at $9.30 per share, while Zacks Research also provided some other estimates pertaining to the company’s future performance. For instance, they predicted that IBM’s earnings will be at $3.76 EPS by Q4 of 2023, FY2023 earnings are estimated to be at $9.15 EPS and Q1 of 2024 should see an upswing with $1.43 EPS in earnings.
Additionally, Q2 of 2024 should bring about an increase in earning with approximately $2.34 EPS expected compared to Q1’s projections – all leading towards an estimated FY2025 earning of $10.02 EPS according to Zacks research analysis.
Despite the reduced earning estimates for Q2 of 2023, IBM recently announced an increase in their quarterly dividend payments which will be paid out on June 10th this year to investors on record before May 10th.
The new quarterly dividend stands at $1.66 which marks an improvement up from International Business Machines’ previous payout value of just $1.65 per share indicating shareholder incentive is high with a yearly dividend yield now at 5.38%. The ex-dividend date for investors interested in participating was on May 9th.
Currently, International Business Machines’ dividend payout ratio (DPR) sits at a staggering but promising level of 337%, indicating that the company distributes most profits back to its shareholders and this could be a positive indicator of their long-term goals.
