Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 2,508 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,289 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,508 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $4,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ellenbecker Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.3% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,500 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 5.1% during the second quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $211.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.06.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $232.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $213.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $237.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.59% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $15.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

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.