National Pension Service Raises Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

National Pension Service boosted its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,665,386 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,403 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of International Business Machines worth $272,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Verus Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $549,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,760 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $142,000. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $337,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded down $1.75 during trading on Thursday, reaching $166.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,311,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,892,348. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $120.55 and a one year high of $199.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.88. 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 has a market capitalization of $152.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on IBM. Wedbush upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. BNP Paribas began coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.29.

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.