Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Grows Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 403,350 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,354 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $88,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on IBM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $252.54 on Thursday. 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 market capitalization of $234.17 billion, a PE ratio of 39.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $162.62 and a twelve month high of $266.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $245.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.33.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. Equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

International Business Machines Company 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.