Verus Financial Partners Inc. Makes New $549,000 Investment in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Verus Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,357 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $549,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,760 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $142,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $337,000. Finally, Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,379 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on IBM shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Wedbush raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM traded down $1.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $166.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,117,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,890,524. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.88. The company has a market cap of $152.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $120.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

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.