Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 7,015 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 306,706 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,015 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $67,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of 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. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 227,815 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,365,000 after buying an additional 10,862 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 68.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 238 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 165,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,617,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 5.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 512,486 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $113,300,000 after acquiring an additional 24,288 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $225.54 on Tuesday. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.62 and a fifty-two 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 company has a market cap of $209.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.74.

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, topping 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%. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.