Optas LLC Purchases 100 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Optas LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,696 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IBM. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.6% during the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,934 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,177 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,261,000 after acquiring an additional 4,166 shares in the last quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 1st quarter valued at $1,276,000. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,984 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.1% in the first quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,588 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,881,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.31.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $276.84 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $167.50 and a 12-month high of $283.06. The company has a market cap of $257.29 billion, a PE ratio of 43.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $252.60 and a 200 day moving average of $243.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The company’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $1.68 dividend. This is a positive change 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 2.43%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 115.66%.

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.