Sabal Trust CO Boosts Stock Position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)

Sabal Trust CO grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,385 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,453 shares during the quarter. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $24,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in International Business Machines by 413.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 9.8% in the fourth 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 period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.75.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $291.38 on Thursday. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52-week low of $170.41 and a 52-week high of $296.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $260.83 and a 200-day moving average of $246.71. The company has a market capitalization of $270.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.43% and a net margin of 8.71%. The company’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.66%.

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.