International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) Shares Bought by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,852 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the first quarter valued at $396,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 495,574 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,942,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $3,000,000. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the first quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 150,652 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,118,000 after purchasing an additional 10,467 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on IBM. Bank of America upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wedbush lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.75.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $292.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $271.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.34, a PEG ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.97. International Business Machines Corporation has a 12 month low of $170.48 and a 12 month high of $296.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $261.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $247.14.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.43% and a net margin of 8.71%. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $1.68 dividend. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

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.