Verus Capital Partners LLC Buys 411 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,676 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 40.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth $242,000. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $1,940,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $373,000. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at $5,117,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $253.24 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.62 and a fifty-two week high of $265.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.69.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 104.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

About International Business Machines

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.