The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 585,188 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,540 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of International Business Machines worth $129,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after buying an additional 2,702,340 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 306.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $242,441,000 after buying an additional 1,056,759 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 587.1% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $134,262,000 after buying an additional 536,785 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 12,282.2% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 472,382 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 468,567 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 103.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 886,323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $195,948,000 after purchasing an additional 449,912 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on IBM. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $208.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bernstein Bank upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. DZ Bank lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This 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. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM stock opened at $228.85 on Wednesday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $154.75 and a 52 week 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.71.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

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.