Xponance Inc. Increases Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,641 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,597 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $19,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 97.6% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 257,335 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,459,000 after buying an additional 127,093 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter worth $203,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 35.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 177,599 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,157,000 after acquiring an additional 46,756 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 95,662 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 382,232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $181.47. 2,885,877 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,803,901. The company has a market cap of $166.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.54. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $120.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The firm had revenue of $17.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on IBM. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.67.

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.