West Branch Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 92.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,426 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,121 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,435 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 1st quarter valued at about $228,000. Bensler LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 1st quarter valued at about $266,000. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 258.2% during the 1st quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 4,606 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.31.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of IBM opened at $276.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.66. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $167.23 and a 1 year high of $283.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 115.66%.

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.