Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 1,243 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,373 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 17,333 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,810,000 after buying an additional 4,740 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in International Business Machines by 588.2% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 46,800 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,288,000 after buying an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 6,536 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Nottingham Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Nottingham Advisors Inc. now owns 1,474 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SevenBridge Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 18,881 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $249.90 on Thursday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $251.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.26.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IBM. Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group upped 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. 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. Wedbush started coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.13.

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.