Founders Financial Alliance LLC Acquires 48 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,964 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $221,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 3.6% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 4,107 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 53.3% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 7.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,478 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $256.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $238.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.08, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $242.03 and its 200 day moving average is $227.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $162.62 and a 52-week high of $266.45.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on IBM. StockNews.com raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

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.