Optas LLC Acquires 291 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 12.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,546 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth $7,160,000. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the second quarter worth about $702,000. Retirement Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter worth about $618,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,370 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after buying an additional 2,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Hoagland & Co. acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,050,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.7 %

IBM stock opened at $208.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $192.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $216.84 and a 200 day moving average of $191.29. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $144.84 and a twelve month high of $237.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on IBM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.