Searle & CO. Has $5.55 Million Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Searle & CO. grew its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,111 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,906 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines comprises 1.3% of Searle & CO.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Searle & CO.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $5,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,833,642,000 after buying an additional 5,546,855 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 61,028 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $1,019,009,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,500,184 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $736,015,000 after purchasing an additional 97,482 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 151.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $671,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,165 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on IBM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.93.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE IBM traded up $3.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $202.13. 4,750,999 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,243,869. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.83. The company has a market capitalization of $185.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.71. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $202.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 75.65%.

About International Business Machines

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.