Congress Park Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Congress Park Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 35.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,223 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,940 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Arden Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.8% in the first quarter. Arden Trust Co now owns 1,973 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Avion Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 964 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.2 %

IBM stock traded up $2.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $172.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,031,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,540,583. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $131.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $170.34 and a 200 day moving average of $176.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.72.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on IBM shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.53.

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.