Sandy Spring Bank Buys 2,542 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,523 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,542 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IBM. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $243.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $225.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.98, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $246.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.42. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $266.45.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

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.