Korea Investment CORP Acquires 98,797 Shares of International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its IBM stake by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 98,797 shares to bring its total holding to 586,968 shares worth about $173.9 million.
• IBM continues to draw mixed but generally positive analyst attention, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.17.
• The company recently topped earnings expectations, reporting $1.91 EPS on $15.92 billion in revenue, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.69 per share for a 2.5% yield.

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 586,968 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 98,797 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.06% of International Business Machines worth $173,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of IBM. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in International Business Machines by 424.6% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 260,740 shares of the technology company's stock worth $77,234,000 after buying an additional 211,040 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lifted its position in International Business Machines by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 18,288 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,417,000 after buying an additional 2,930 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in International Business Machines by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 993,743 shares of the technology company's stock worth $280,439,000 after buying an additional 32,072 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,122 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,887,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 114,395 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,278,000 after buying an additional 38,973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on IBM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wedbush set a $350.00 price target on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $304.17.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM opened at $271.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.80. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52-week low of $212.34 and a 52-week high of $332.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $250.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.34.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.10. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.23% and a net margin of 15.61%.The firm had revenue of $15.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. International Business Machines's payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM's principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.

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