Hills Bank & Trust Co Increases Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,346 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 463 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $1,019,009,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,833,642,000 after buying an additional 5,546,855 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in International Business Machines by 151.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $671,352,000 after buying an additional 2,118,165 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $172,887,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in International Business Machines by 79.4% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 922,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,160,000 after acquiring an additional 408,230 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.93.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $196.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,321,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,278,521. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $183.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.41. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $199.18. The firm has a market cap of $180.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio 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.