Patron Partners LLC Takes $798,000 Position in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Patron Partners LLC acquired 2,839 IBM shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $798,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 58.96% of IBM’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with IBM receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $265.90, though some analysts recently lowered targets or downgraded the stock.
• IBM reported quarterly EPS of $2.93, matching estimates, while revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $17.16 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.69 per share, representing a 2.9% annualized yield.

Patron Partners LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,839 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $798,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of International Business Machines to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Business Machines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $265.90.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.1%

International Business Machines stock opened at $234.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $241.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.13. The company has a market capitalization of $221.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.71. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52 week low of $199.19 and a 52 week high of $332.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.93. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.52% and a return on equity of 35.65%. The company had revenue of $17.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. International Business Machines's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert Thomas sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total transaction of $5,758,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 47,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,009,296. This trade represents a 34.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Business Machines Company Profile

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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