AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 120,074 Shares of International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 14.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 948,589 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 120,074 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $277,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,051,475 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,019,274,000 after buying an additional 1,913,708 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,536,963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,076,406,000 after buying an additional 147,721 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,936,235 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,444,527,000 after acquiring an additional 400,131 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,636,725 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,147,608,000 after acquiring an additional 524,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in International Business Machines by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,126,503 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,100,751,000 after acquiring an additional 234,318 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on International Business Machines from $256.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, November 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $293.38.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $309.33 on Friday. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1-year low of $214.50 and a 1-year high of $324.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $299.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $289.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.69.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.20. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.76% and a net margin of 12.09%.The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.38%.

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.