International Business Machines Corporation $IBM Shares Bought by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,950 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $15,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 129.1% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 126 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 48.5% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 147 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group set a $317.00 target price on International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on International Business Machines from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David N. Farr purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814,432. This represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $257.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $294.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.00. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52 week low of $214.50 and a 52 week high of $324.90. The stock has a market cap of $240.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.69.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.33 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 60.27%.

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.