BCS Wealth Management Invests $227,000 in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

BCS Wealth Management acquired a new stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,188 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,076,195 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,515,290,000 after buying an additional 365,388 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,280,968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,919,490 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,970,674 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,398,886,000 after acquiring an additional 404,948 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,465,214 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,048,631,000 after purchasing an additional 61,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $1,019,009,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $172.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $158.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.72. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $129.18 and a one year high of $199.18. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on IBM. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas began coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.29.

International Business Machines Company 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.