CRA Financial Services LLC Increases Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

CRA Financial Services LLC increased its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,964 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $530,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 98,797.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,029,001 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,553,876,000 after acquiring an additional 11,017,849 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $876,014,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,592,094 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,337,660,000 after buying an additional 3,084,458 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 13,609.0% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,829,537 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $21,584,000 after buying an additional 2,808,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 213.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,987,009 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $129,002,000 after buying an additional 2,035,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.16% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE:IBM traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $145.99. The stock had a trading volume of 6,234,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,554,644. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $142.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.85. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $115.54 and a one year high of $153.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, September 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 10th were given a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 9th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 307.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IBM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, July 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.91.

About International Business Machines

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.