Mechanics Bank Trust Department Takes Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 2,454 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,076,195 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,515,290,000 after purchasing an additional 365,388 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,280,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,919,490 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,019,009,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,500,184 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $736,015,000 after buying an additional 97,482 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $172.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $158.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $129.31 and a 1-year high of $199.18. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $170.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.40.

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 return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on IBM shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.53.

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.