Argent Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 907 International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 907 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,833,642,000 after buying an additional 5,546,855 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after buying an additional 2,702,340 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 151.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $671,352,000 after buying an additional 2,118,165 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 306.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $242,441,000 after buying an additional 1,056,759 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 12,282.2% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 472,382 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 468,567 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM stock opened at $218.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $136.33 and a 52-week high of $237.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $214.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.05. The company has a market capitalization of $200.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.05. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IBM shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Hsbc Global Res raised International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.12.

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.