International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Bought by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 39.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,542 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 3,055 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 3,955 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 113.6% during the 1st quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 11,520 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,200,000 after buying an additional 6,127 shares during the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 10,440 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,994,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Norwood Financial Corp now owns 3,566 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.53.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded up $2.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $172.95. 4,193,459 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,570,876. The stock has a market cap of $158.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $169.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.40. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $131.55 and a 12-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.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 75.65%.

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.