LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Buys 17,400 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 81.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,845 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,400 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $6,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,235,000 after acquiring an additional 57,170 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth about $661,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 32,245 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,524,000 after acquiring an additional 8,117 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 19,692 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 6,397 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on IBM shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 5th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.85.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $191.11. 1,184,491 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,179,400. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $120.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $175.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The business had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

About International Business Machines

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.