First Horizon Advisors Inc. Increases Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 197,078 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. International Business Machines accounts for approximately 1.2% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $43,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IBM. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at approximately $573,306,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in International Business Machines by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $370,909,000 after purchasing an additional 800,930 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 23,311.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 697,182 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,262,000 after purchasing an additional 694,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 587.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $134,262,000 after purchasing an additional 536,785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on IBM shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $261.77 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $265.72. The company has a market cap of $242.05 billion, a PE ratio of 40.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.05.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.21%.

International Business Machines Company Profile

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.