Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 2,043 Shares of International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 73,413 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,043 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $21,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on IBM. UBS Group upgraded International Business Machines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. DZ Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays started coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 price target on International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.17.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $271.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.34. The stock has a market cap of $255.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.67. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52 week low of $212.34 and a 52 week high of $332.46.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.23% and a net margin of 15.61%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.