International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Holdings Raised by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,519 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,465,223,000 after acquiring an additional 126,547 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,148,717,000 after purchasing an additional 294,276 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $592,746,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $250.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $266.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $248.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.76. The company has a market capitalization of $231.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

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.