B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Buys 824 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,008 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 824 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $13,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,465,223,000 after buying an additional 126,547 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $1,236,176,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $592,746,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IBM shares. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $243.83 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $249.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.62. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $162.62 and a 52-week high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.