Cetera Advisor Networks LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,860 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 8,398 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $27,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,019,009,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 6.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,833,642,000 after purchasing an additional 5,546,855 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 15,439.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,653,462 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $433,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636,386 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in International Business Machines by 151.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $671,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,165 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,887,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.93.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $189.12. The stock had a trading volume of 4,548,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,874,536. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $176.64 and a 200-day moving average of $180.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $174.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.71. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $15.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 75.65%.

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.