Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $456,000 Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 120.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,078 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter worth about $221,000. United Bank raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 53.3% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 33.0% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,326 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,388,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 12.4% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,205 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 89.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,006 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,318,000 after purchasing an additional 7,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $249.72 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $243.21 and its 200-day moving average is $227.58. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $162.62 and a 1 year high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $231.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 Transactions at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.