Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires 30,059 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 57.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 81,945 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,059 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $13,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 376,430 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,565,000 after buying an additional 4,123 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,934 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in International Business Machines by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,736 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Coombe Bender & Co LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Coombe Bender & Co LLC now owns 5,036 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,476 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IBM. UBS Group lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:IBM opened at $165.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $120.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $185.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.20%.

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.