Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV Purchases Shares of 1,148 International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,148 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000. International Business Machines comprises about 0.1% of Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 971.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded up $2.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $172.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,193,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,570,876. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $131.55 and a 52 week high of $199.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $158.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.40.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.53.

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.