Bill Few Associates Inc. Increases Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,450 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines comprises about 1.2% of Bill Few Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 1,054.5% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IBM shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on International Business Machines from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.73.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM opened at $223.09 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $206.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $223.60 and a 200-day moving average of $211.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.