Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 53.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,798 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 14,207 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $8,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 413.5% during the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 9.8% in the 4th 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 valued at $1,783,281,000 after acquiring an additional 722,582 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $1.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $258.98. 1,000,876 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,197,482. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.17. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $163.53 and a 1-year high of $269.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $240.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The business 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 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $1.68 dividend. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on IBM shares. KGI Securities set a $242.00 target price on International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $249.06.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines 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.