MCF Advisors LLC Increases Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,836 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 477,193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,045,000 after purchasing an additional 80,474 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 18.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,235,000 after acquiring an additional 57,170 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.2% in the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 378 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at $661,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE:IBM traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $181.49. The stock had a trading volume of 508,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,723,180. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $120.55 and a twelve month high of $199.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.31.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The firm had revenue of $17.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Evercore raised International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.67.

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.