Plan Group Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Plan Group Financial LLC raised its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,619 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its position in International Business Machines by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,425 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,292,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its stake in International Business Machines by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,123 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Goldstein Advisors LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on IBM shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $262.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $233.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.66. The company has a market cap of $243.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.01, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.76. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $265.72.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.21%.

About International Business Machines

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.