Ascent Group LLC Acquires 771 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,079 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 1,054.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 37.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 222 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $227.41 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.71. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $156.89 and a 1-year high of $237.37.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.