Apexium Financial LP Acquires 19,461 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Apexium Financial LP raised its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 404.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,277 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,461 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,076,195 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,515,290,000 after purchasing an additional 365,388 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 13.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,280,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,919,490 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,970,674 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,398,886,000 after buying an additional 404,948 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,465,214 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,048,631,000 after buying an additional 61,028 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in International Business Machines by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,345,842 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $890,322,000 after acquiring an additional 871,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

International Business Machines stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $168.94. 3,491,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,827,260. The company's fifty day moving average is $182.45 and its 200-day moving average is $172.84. 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 $123.47 and a 52 week high of $199.18. The firm has a market cap of $155.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is 75.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore upgraded International Business Machines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised International Business Machines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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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