Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,376,356 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $302,564,000. International Business Machines comprises 2.0% of Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of International Business Machines at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IBM. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,622,432 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $381,683,000 after purchasing an additional 302,675 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,094,106 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $241,885,000 after acquiring an additional 46,951 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company's stock worth $16,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 14,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,078,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. raised its position in International Business Machines by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 54,011 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,873,000 after purchasing an additional 3,402 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IBM. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $248.50.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock traded up $4.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $253.48. 3,399,119 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,205,602. The stock has a market cap of $235.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $242.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.38. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $163.53 and a fifty-two week high of $266.45.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 115.66%.

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.