M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Raises Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 21.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,698 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 994 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines makes up approximately 1.4% of M.E. Allison & CO. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $1,236,176,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 29,564.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,399,790 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,940,520,000 after acquiring an additional 4,384,958 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $592,746,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 worth $2,384,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. KGI Securities set a $242.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $250.31.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM opened at $276.84 on Monday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $167.50 and a 52-week high of $283.06. 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 company has a market cap of $257.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $252.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 115.66%.

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.

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