International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Bought by Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 72.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,762 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,423 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on IBM shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $232.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $238.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $221.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $248.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.24. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $266.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. 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.