Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,476 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 971.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines by 67.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cordant Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 753.3% during the 4th quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:IBM opened at $168.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $154.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $185.11 and a 200 day moving average of $171.88. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $120.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IBM. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore raised International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.29.

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.