Affinity Investment Advisors LLC Has $2.61 Million Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,925 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 593 shares during the period. International Business Machines accounts for about 1.8% of Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. InterOcean Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 17,507 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,863,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,920 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $432,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 30,710 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,023,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IBM shares. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded up $3.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $173.49. 6,458,964 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,803,409. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $125.01 and a twelve month high of $199.18. The company has a market cap of $159.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.55.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

International Business Machines Company 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.