GWN Securities Inc. Buys New Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,463 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth $592,746,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth $573,306,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $370,909,000 after acquiring an additional 800,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 23,311.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 697,182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $153,262,000 after acquiring an additional 694,204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBM has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of IBM opened at $248.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.71, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $162.62 and a 1 year high of $266.45. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.26.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. 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.