Optas LLC Acquires 165 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Optas LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,177 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IBM. Bridgeworth LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeworth LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 354.0% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 87,038 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,235,000 after buying an additional 67,867 shares during the period. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,123 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $172,000. Finally, Inlet Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,577 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on IBM shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $144.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.85.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.9 %

IBM opened at $187.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.00. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $120.55 and a 52 week high of $199.18. The company has a market capitalization of $171.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

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.