International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Bought by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd grew its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,493 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IBM. Passumpsic Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.8% in the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 2,045 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $766,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 3,140 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,610 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on IBM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.13.

International Business Machines Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:IBM opened at $235.49 on Monday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $162.62 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.02. The company has a market capitalization of $218.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Business Machines Profile

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.