International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) Shares Acquired by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 27.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,505 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in International Business Machines by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 495,574 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,942,000 after buying an additional 4,131 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $3,000,000. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the first quarter worth $239,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 150,652 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,118,000 after buying an additional 10,467 shares during the period. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 0.8% in the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 141,448 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,172,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:IBM opened at $280.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1-year low of $170.41 and a 1-year high of $286.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.43% and a net margin of 8.71%. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $1.68 dividend. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on IBM shares. Wedbush increased their target price on International Business Machines from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.75.

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.