Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Grows Position in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,003 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,358 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $4,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,011,122,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,051,475 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,019,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913,708 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 27,928.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,903,116 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $561,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896,326 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $133,771,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 45.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,313,241 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $387,118,000 after purchasing an additional 412,574 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $256.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on International Business Machines from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.38.

International Business Machines Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $305.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $303.46 and its 200 day moving average is $282.50. The stock has a market cap of $285.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52-week low of $214.50 and a 52-week high of $324.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.10 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.76% and a net margin of 12.09%.The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

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

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.