Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 2,648 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 299,691 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $66,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IBM. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 151.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $671,352,000 after buying an additional 2,118,165 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 1st quarter worth about $2,120,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 366,115 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $69,913,000 after purchasing an additional 34,319 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 303,745 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kinloch Capital LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 26,619 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,083,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.3 %

IBM stock opened at $222.97 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $153.92 and a twelve month high of $237.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $219.45 and its 200-day moving average is $195.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on IBM shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bernstein Bank increased their price target on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Company 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.