International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Position Boosted by Bragg Financial Advisors Inc

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 67,742 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $14,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $592,746,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in International Business Machines by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $370,909,000 after purchasing an additional 800,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 23,311.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 697,182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $153,262,000 after buying an additional 694,204 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $235.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $218.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $249.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.95. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.62 and a fifty-two week high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 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 Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

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.