Board of the Pension Protection Fund Takes Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,300 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $945,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ellenbecker Investment Group increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.3% in the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company's stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.0% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Sollinda Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.7% in the third quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the technology company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $215.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.6 %

International Business Machines stock traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $219.14. The stock had a trading volume of 620,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,950,705. The company has a market capitalization of $202.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $239.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $222.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

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.