Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Raises Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2,519.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 290,806 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279,706 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $63,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IBM. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after acquiring an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,746,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $268.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $163.53 and a 52-week high of $269.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $244.11 and a 200 day moving average of $237.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.68 per share. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.66%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on IBM. Bank of America raised their target price on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. KGI Securities set a $242.00 target price on International Business Machines and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.06.

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.