Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Has $385,000 Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,353 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors grew its stake in International Business Machines by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 11,963 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 121,641 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,894,000 after buying an additional 8,597 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 16,435 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,686,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV grew its stake in International Business Machines by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 8,561 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM stock traded down $1.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $181.44. 2,886,449 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,803,908. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $120.55 and a one year high of $199.18. The stock has a market cap of $166.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $17.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.60 EPS. Equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $1.66 dividend. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 81.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Evercore raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.