Joule Financial LLC Buys 2,160 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Joule Financial LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,569 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines makes up about 0.6% of Joule Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Joule Financial LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at $7,160,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth $5,117,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,615,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $24,761,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $224.73 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $239.35. The company has a market cap of $207.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

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.