Leavell Investment Management Inc. Buys 672 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,158 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 672 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $4,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after buying an additional 2,702,340 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $573,306,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $370,909,000 after buying an additional 800,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 23,311.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 697,182 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,262,000 after purchasing an additional 694,204 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IBM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $254.85 on Wednesday. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $162.62 and a 1 year high of $265.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $230.19 and its 200-day moving average is $217.78. The company has a market capitalization of $235.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.76.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. Equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 104.21%.

International Business Machines 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.