Company Update (NYSE:IBM): Warren Buffett says more likely to buy IBM shares than sell -CNBC

[Reuters] – Warren Buffett , chairman and chief executive of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, said Monday he would be more likely to buy than sell IBM shares over the next two years, and that he did not seek to profit from global central bank actions. Buffett, whose Berkshire held an 8.59 percent stake in IBM as of the end of last year and who has caught some flak for his stake, said his cost basis in IBM was around $170 a share and that he had still never sold a share. IBM shares were little changed at $145.60 in early trading on Monday. Read more on this. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) , valued at $139.09B, started trading this morning at $146.56. Looking at the equity, the company’s one day range is $144.61 to $146.93 and has traded between $116.90 and $176.30 over the past year. IBM shares are currently priced at 10.79x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 10.23x earnings multiple for the same period. And for dividend hunters, the company pays shareholders $5.40 per share annually in dividends, yielding 3.70%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 19 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $2.88 per share, which would be $0.96 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.55 sequential decrease. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $13.53 would be a $1.39 worse when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $20.04 Billion. If reported, that would be a 3.70% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Morgan Stanley upgraded IBM from Equal-Weight to Overweight (Feb 18, 2016). Previously, JMP Securities Initiated IBM at to Mkt Outperform. The average price target for IBM shares by the analysts covering it is $144.05, which is 1.71% below where the stock opened. See more in (NYSE:IBM) Similar Articles: Company Update (NYSE:IBM): Is IBM Setting Up for a Selloff? Company Update: International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) – REPORT: IBM 4Q Server Revenue Outpaces Overall 4Q Server Market Growth Stock Update: International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) – Did Warren Buffett Lose His Midas Touch With This Bad Bet?