Principal Securities Inc. Acquires Shares of 15,118 International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position 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 and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,118 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,473,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 477,193 shares of the technology company's stock worth $78,045,000 after purchasing an additional 80,474 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in International Business Machines by 18.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology company's stock worth $52,235,000 after buying an additional 57,170 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 3.2% in the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,070,000 after buying an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 378 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the technology company's stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded International Business Machines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.15. 2,254,199 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,915,135. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $184.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.83. The company has a market cap of $153.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $120.55 and a 52 week high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 75.20%.

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.

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