MML Investors Services LLC Acquires 16,293 Shares of International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,305 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $66,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 10.6% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at $211,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 38,617 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,383,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its position in International Business Machines by 11.6% in the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 1,017 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of International Business Machines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.17.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $268.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $250.42 and a 200-day moving average of $269.84. International Business Machines Corporation has a one year low of $212.34 and a one year high of $332.46. The company has a market cap of $252.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 37.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.