Principal Securities Inc. Increases Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,573 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,946 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,425 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,292,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in International Business Machines by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,123 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 4.0% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% in the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of IBM opened at $260.65 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.45. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $162.62 and a twelve month high of $265.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.76.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

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.