Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 68,760 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 9.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 779,468 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 68,760 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $172,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IBM. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 37.0% during the second quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 222 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc increased its position in International Business Machines by 54.3% during the second quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 284 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE IBM traded down $3.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.67. 8,482,235 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,480,485. 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 company has a market cap of $197.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $141.58 and a fifty-two week high of $237.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.42.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 73.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on IBM. UBS Group lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.12.

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.