Aspire Growth Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 7,831 International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,831 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,000. International Business Machines makes up approximately 1.7% of Aspire Growth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on IBM. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. KGI Securities set a $242.00 target price on International Business Machines and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.50.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $245.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $227.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $243.19 and its 200 day moving average is $234.14. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $163.53 and a one year high of $266.45.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.97%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related 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 transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.