Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Increases Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,936 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $5,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $1,019,009,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,833,642,000 after acquiring an additional 5,546,855 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 151.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $671,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,165 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $172,887,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 79.4% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 922,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $176,160,000 after purchasing an additional 408,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $203.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 240,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,205,723. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $205.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $15.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.18 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.93.

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.