DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 9,734 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 249,475 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 9,734 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $33,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 33.8% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 5,888 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares during the last quarter. Skba Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Skba Capital Management LLC now owns 123,800 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,229,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 4.8% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 3,054 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. TIAA FSB grew its position in International Business Machines by 72.2% in the first quarter. TIAA FSB now owns 169,994 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,285,000 after acquiring an additional 71,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co raised its stake in International Business Machines by 8.6% during the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 100,122 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,125,000 after acquiring an additional 7,889 shares in the last quarter. 56.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.2 %

IBM traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $146.89. 546,364 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,532,417. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $141.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.34. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $115.54 and a 1-year high of $153.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 19th. The technology company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.10% and a net margin of 3.35%. The company had revenue of $15.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 10th were paid a $1.66 dividend. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 307.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, July 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on International Business Machines from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.91.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through four business segments: Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing. The Software segment offers hybrid cloud platform and software solutions; software for business automation, AIOps and management, integration, and application servers; data and artificial intelligence solutions; and security software and services for threat, data, and identity.