Providence Capital Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,646 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $592,746,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the third quarter worth $573,306,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $246.30 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $249.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.01. The firm has a market cap of $228.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $266.45. 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 (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

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.