Plancorp LLC Raises Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Plancorp LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,262 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 84 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $592,746,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth $573,306,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $370,909,000 after purchasing an additional 800,930 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 23,311.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 697,182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $153,262,000 after purchasing an additional 694,204 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $243.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.62 and a fifty-two week high of $266.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.02 billion, a PE ratio of 38.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Business Machines 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.