Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,624 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,183 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ellenbecker Investment Group boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.3% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 4.0% during the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.6% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,891,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sollinda Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.7% during the third quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of 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 upped 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.73.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM opened at $224.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $162.62 and a 52-week high of $239.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $224.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.82. The company has a market cap of $207.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.