Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,448 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $35,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,783,281,000 after buying an additional 722,582 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $281.61 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $261.73 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.66. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $167.23 and a 12 month high of $281.76.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $1.68 dividend. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.31.

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.