Conning Inc. Acquires 279 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Conning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,792 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IBM. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 530,414 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,775,000 after acquiring an additional 87,227 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. Bank OZK bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 23,531 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,848,000 after acquiring an additional 7,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE IBM traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $198.46. 2,632,815 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,248,298. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $182.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.51. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $200.00.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.93.

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.