Avalon Trust Co Acquires 357 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Avalon Trust Co raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 29.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,561 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,076,195 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,515,290,000 after buying an additional 365,388 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 13.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,280,968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,919,490 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in International Business Machines by 4.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,970,674 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,398,886,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,345,842 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $890,322,000 after purchasing an additional 871,247 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 15,439.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,653,462 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $433,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636,386 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM traded up $1.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.71. 3,400,405 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,768,629. The company has a market cap of $152.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $120.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IBM. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.29.

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.