Apella Capital LLC Raises Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,948 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,467,974,000 after purchasing an additional 330,694 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,274,074,000 after purchasing an additional 444,698 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,148,717,000 after purchasing an additional 294,276 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $602,819,000 after buying an additional 12,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $217.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $201.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.16. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $162.62 and a 1-year high of $239.35.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bernstein Bank lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.81.

International Business Machines 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.