International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,023,989 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 840,064 shares during the period. International Business Machines accounts for about 0.8% of First Trust Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.44% of International Business Machines worth $884,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in International Business Machines by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 134.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.9 %

IBM stock traded up $4.59 on Wednesday, hitting $245.49. 2,811,023 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,234,219. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $246.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.79. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $266.45. The stock has a market cap of $227.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $232.75.

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.