L.K. Benson & Company P.C. Takes Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

L.K. Benson & Company P.C. bought a new position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,900 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in International Business Machines by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 134.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on IBM. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of IBM stock opened at $246.80 on Wednesday. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $162.62 and a 1-year high of $266.45. The company has a market cap of $228.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 104.21%.

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.