International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Holdings Lifted by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 81.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,686 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 23,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 238 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 95,529 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,120,000 after purchasing an additional 18,340 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 14,649 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,239,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 299,691 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,256,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IBM. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $243.75 on Monday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $162.62 and a 52-week high of $266.45. The stock has a market cap of $226.02 billion, a PE ratio of 38.03, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $246.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.09.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.