First Merchants Corp Acquires Shares of 975 International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)

First Merchants Corp bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 975 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IBM. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 3,972 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,805 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 7,350 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $289.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $170.53 and a 1 year high of $296.16. The company has a market cap of $269.24 billion, a PE ratio of 49.86, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $262.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.54.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 37.43%. The company's revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. KGI Securities set a $242.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued 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 $253.75.

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.

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