LM Advisors LLC Purchases 5,838 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

LM Advisors LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 231.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,358 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 5,838 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after buying an additional 427,499 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in International Business Machines by 18.6% in 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, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,783,281,000 after acquiring an additional 722,582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, KGI Securities set a $242.00 price target on International Business Machines and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $249.06.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM stock traded down $3.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $260.20. 2,315,588 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,203,801. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $163.53 and a 1-year high of $269.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.83 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

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. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines 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 transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.