Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 2,857 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,264 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,857 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $8,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 477,193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,045,000 after acquiring an additional 80,474 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 18.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,235,000 after buying an additional 57,170 shares in the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 3.2% during the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after buying an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 378 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded up $1.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.71. 3,400,405 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,768,629. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $152.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $185.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.44. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $120.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 75.20%.

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.