Stifel Financial Corp Grows Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,929,002 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,875 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.21% of International Business Machines worth $424,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 3.8% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 2,045 shares of the technology company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $766,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 3,140 shares of the technology company's stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,610 shares of the technology company's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $232.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm'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 value of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM traded up $4.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $245.73. 7,732,209 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,247,400. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $246.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.79. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $162.62 and a 1 year high of $266.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. 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 data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.17. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines's payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

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.