International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Purchased by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,884 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 477,193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,045,000 after purchasing an additional 80,474 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,235,000 after purchasing an additional 57,170 shares during the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 378 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.08.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of IBM traded down $1.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $164.36. The company had a trading volume of 4,029,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,011,487. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $120.55 and a twelve month high of $199.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $186.85 and its 200-day moving average is $170.91. The company has a market capitalization of $150.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.98 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.20%.

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.