HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases 433 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,447 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. International Business Machines comprises 0.6% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $11,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Business Machines 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 transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Business Machines Price Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $243.83 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $249.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $266.45. The firm has a market cap of $226.10 billion, a P/E 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.