Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $560,000 Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 89.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,543 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on IBM shares. Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $250.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $248.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.76. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $266.45. The company has a market capitalization of $231.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (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%. Analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.