International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Bought by Rench Wealth Management Inc.

Rench Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,352 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IBM. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 134.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $239.15 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $162.62 and a 1 year high of $266.45. The company has a market cap of $221.76 billion, a PE ratio of 37.31, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $248.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.14.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $232.75.

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.