Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 3,183 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,624 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,183 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines by 40.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,940,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,117,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,615,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares during the period. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,034,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $224.06 on Tuesday. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $239.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $207.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $224.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.82.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 97.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.73.

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.