International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Acquired by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 107,957 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the period. International Business Machines accounts for 2.2% of Verity & Verity LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $23,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 77,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,350,000 after purchasing an additional 9,155 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. ProVise Management Group LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 2.3% during the second quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 3,305 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 66.6% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 318,035 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,004,000 after buying an additional 127,147 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,766 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,073,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.9 %

IBM opened at $224.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $239.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $222.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.31.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 97.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bernstein Bank boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.81.

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.