Eagle Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 587.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 536,785 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $134,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in International Business Machines by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,467,974,000 after buying an additional 330,694 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,274,074,000 after acquiring an additional 444,698 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in International Business Machines by 6.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,796,206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $829,431,000 after acquiring an additional 304,390 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 151.6% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 2,118,165 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $602,819,000 after purchasing an additional 12,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IBM. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Bernstein Bank raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.12.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of IBM opened at $222.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $153.92 and a one year high of $237.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $219.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.83. The company has a market capitalization of $205.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

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.