Allstate Corp Takes Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 27,383 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,020,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 23,700.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 238 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter worth $4,355,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 13.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 40,396 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at $599,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush started coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $243.83 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.29.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

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.