Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,578 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $5,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 3,892 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $247,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.60.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $211.61 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $212.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $192.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.