Royal Fund Management LLC Boosts Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Royal Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,973 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $5,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,076,195 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,515,290,000 after purchasing an additional 365,388 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,280,968,000 after buying an additional 1,919,490 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,970,674 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,398,886,000 after buying an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 15.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,345,842 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $890,322,000 after acquiring an additional 871,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 15,439.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,653,462 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $433,974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636,386 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $165.71. 3,400,405 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,768,629. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.01. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $120.55 and a 12-month high of $199.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $152.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IBM. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.29.

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.