Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 302,675 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 22.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,622,432 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 302,675 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.18% of International Business Machines worth $381,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 12,125 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,681,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Blankinship & Foster LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 5,903.1% during the third quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC now owns 77,980 shares of the technology company's stock worth $17,240,000 after purchasing an additional 76,681 shares in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management lifted its position in International Business Machines by 10.7% in the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 2,299 shares of the technology company's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 333.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 92,363 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,420,000 after purchasing an additional 71,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IBM shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. DZ Bank lowered shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $208.12.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $230.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,757,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,227,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $213.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $222.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.54. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $157.88 and a 12-month high of $239.35.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.23%.

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.