Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 4,934 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,791 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 4,934 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $12,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $1,236,176,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at about $592,746,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on IBM shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 15th. 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 research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $231.13.

Insider Activity

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of IBM stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $221.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,813,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,172,349. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $251.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $162.62 and a 12 month high of $266.45.

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, 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is currently 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.