First Bancorp Inc ME Increases Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

First Bancorp Inc ME grew its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 14.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,028 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 700,125 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $154,784,000 after purchasing an additional 3,987 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $230,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 14.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,500,796 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $331,796,000 after buying an additional 190,469 shares in the last quarter. Cobblestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 15.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,289 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,043,000 after buying an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. DZ Bank lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bernstein Bank increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.06.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of IBM stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $232.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,715,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,195,661. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.15. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $237.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The business had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.65%.

International Business Machines 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.