Palisade Asset Management LLC Has $17.41 Million Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Palisade Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,449 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines comprises about 1.9% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $17,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,465,214 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,048,631,000 after acquiring an additional 61,028 shares during the last quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 7,319 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,464 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,436,000 after purchasing an additional 5,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,697,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on IBM shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wedbush upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

International Business Machines stock traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $169.90. 3,466,446 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,920,962. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.88. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $120.55 and a 52-week high of $199.18. The company has a market cap of $156.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is presently 75.20%.

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.