Griffith & Werner Inc. Invests $962,000 in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Griffith & Werner Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,377 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $962,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors grew its position in International Business Machines by 413.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,746,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on IBM. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Saturday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, KGI Securities set a $242.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $249.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE IBM opened at $258.79 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $245.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market cap of $240.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.37, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $163.53 and a 12 month high of $269.28.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is 115.66%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IBM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.