Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 4,330 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 783,798 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.08% of International Business Machines worth $173,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third 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. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,467,974,000 after buying an additional 330,694 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,274,074,000 after buying an additional 444,698 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,148,717,000 after buying an additional 294,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in International Business Machines by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,796,206 shares of the technology company's stock worth $829,431,000 after acquiring an additional 304,390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on IBM shares. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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 research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $214.88.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM traded down $3.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $219.40. 3,570,079 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,131,566. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $221.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $160.29 and a twelve month high of $239.35. 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 (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. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. International Business Machines's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors 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 3.04%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.