Norges Bank Takes $1.24 Billion Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,623,327 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,236,176,000. Norges Bank owned 0.61% of International Business Machines as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% during 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 last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,465,223,000 after purchasing an additional 126,547 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,148,717,000 after purchasing an additional 294,276 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $592,746,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $2.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $243.83. The company had a trading volume of 3,125,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,089,823. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $162.62 and a twelve month high of $266.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

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.