Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 56,353 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 173,932 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,353 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $38,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE:IBM opened at $249.03 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.62 and a fifty-two week high of $266.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

International Business Machines Company 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.