Biondo Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Biondo Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 54,352 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 657 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines makes up 1.6% of Biondo Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $11,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 126,547 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,236,176,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $592,746,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $243.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $162.62 and a 52-week high of $266.45. The stock has a market cap of $226.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $249.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.29.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

International Business Machines 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.