Financial Security Advisor Inc. Grows Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,346 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IBM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 971.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Societe Generale reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore raised International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.85.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $189.15 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.15. The company has a market cap of $173.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $120.55 and a 12-month high of $199.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 39.55% and a net margin of 12.13%. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

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.