Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Has $3.20 Million Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,746 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,019,009,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 15,439.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,653,462 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $433,974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636,386 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in International Business Machines by 13.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,280,968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,919,490 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,887,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,020,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $172.61 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.72. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $129.31 and a 12 month high of $199.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on IBM shares. StockNews.com raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 19th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.53.

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.