Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,127 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,026,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,589,145,000 after buying an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,783,281,000 after buying an additional 722,582 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IBM. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. KGI Securities set a $242.00 price objective on International Business Machines and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wedbush lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.50.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.4%

International Business Machines stock opened at $291.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.65. International Business Machines Corporation has a 12 month low of $173.95 and a 12 month high of $296.16. The company has a market capitalization of $271.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.69.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.43% and a net margin of 8.71%. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 115.66%.

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.