Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Makes New Investment in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,205 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $485,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 174.3% during the fourth quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 192 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on IBM shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. UBS Group restated a "sell" rating and set a $170.00 target price (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Saturday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $249.06.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded down $1.10 on Thursday, hitting $259.14. 1,095,868 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,197,869. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $163.53 and a 52 week 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.17. The company has a market cap of $240.84 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $1.68 per share. 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 115.66%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.