Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Acquires 2,337 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,453 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,337 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $4,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IBM. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 1,054.5% during the third 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 period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM stock opened at $224.73 on Tuesday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $239.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on IBM. UBS Group upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. DZ Bank lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank increased their price target on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five 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 $216.87.

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.