GoalVest Advisory LLC Raises Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 258.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 358 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $68,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 29.6% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in International Business Machines by 1.6% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 18,187 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP increased its position in International Business Machines by 2.0% during the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 5,166 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.5% in the first quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 3,517 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.6% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,333 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IBM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.53.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $170.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $170.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.37. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $130.91 and a 52 week high of $199.18.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.65%.

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.