First Bancorp Inc ME Grows Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

First Bancorp Inc ME grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,028 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 164.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 198 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 37.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 222 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $232.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,715,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,195,661. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $212.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.15. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $237.37. The company has a market cap of $213.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The business had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. DZ Bank lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bernstein Bank boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.06.

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.