Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,465,214 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,028 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,048,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 7,319 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,464 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,436,000 after buying an additional 5,255 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,831 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,697,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 70,741 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,570,000 after buying an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 156,216 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,549,000 after purchasing an additional 17,871 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America raised their price target 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, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE IBM traded up $0.94 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $169.32. 1,491,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,910,327. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $120.55 and a 12-month high of $199.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $185.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 75.20%.

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.