Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,500,184 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 97,482 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.49% of International Business Machines worth $736,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IBM. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,940 shares of the technology company's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 964 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 1,230 shares of the technology company's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

International Business Machines stock traded up $0.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $167.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,255,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,025,428. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $184.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.04. 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 1-year low of $120.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on IBM. Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $181.29.

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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