Sage Advisors LLC Increases Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Sage Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,716 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines makes up 0.8% of Sage Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Sage Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $600,373,000 after buying an additional 2,702,340 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $573,306,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $370,909,000 after purchasing an additional 800,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 23,311.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 697,182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $153,262,000 after purchasing an additional 694,204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IBM. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $260.65 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $162.62 and a twelve month high of $265.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $231.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.77. The company has a market cap of $241.01 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.76.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 104.21%.

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.