Avanza Fonder AB Takes Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 66,685 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,659,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in International Business Machines by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,467,974,000 after purchasing an additional 330,694 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,274,074,000 after purchasing an additional 444,698 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,148,717,000 after buying an additional 294,276 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in International Business Machines by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $602,819,000 after buying an additional 12,400 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on IBM shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.81.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.5 %

IBM stock opened at $223.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $222.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.23. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $162.62 and a 52-week high of $239.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

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.