Bensler LLC Purchases Shares of 1,068 International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Bensler LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,068 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 6.7% in the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the technology company's stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd raised its stake in International Business Machines by 258.2% in the first quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 4,606 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares in the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 32.1% in the first quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 2,968 shares of the technology company's stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its stake in International Business Machines by 3.3% in the first quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 8,352 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,077,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 5.5% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 91,537 shares of the technology company's stock worth $22,761,000 after buying an additional 4,741 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $4.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $276.84. The stock had a trading volume of 3,242,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,232,590. 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 50 day moving average of $251.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.34. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $167.23 and a twelve month high of $283.06. The firm has a market cap of $257.29 billion, a PE ratio of 43.19, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.66.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. KGI Securities set a $242.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $250.31.

International Business Machines Company 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.