Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Increases Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,960 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of IBM. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 515,212 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $84,263,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Lyell Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,601 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,369,000 after buying an additional 1,294 shares during the period. Finally, Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP now owns 9,240 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after buying an additional 1,960 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.31.

International Business Machines Stock Down 8.0 %

International Business Machines stock traded down $14.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $169.30. The company had a trading volume of 16,696,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,958,338. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $188.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.98. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $120.55 and a 12 month high of $199.18. The company has a market capitalization of $155.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 39.55% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.67%.

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.