Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Buys 2,358 Shares of International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 16.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,003 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $4,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,011,122,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,913,708 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $561,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896,326 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth $133,771,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $387,118,000 after buying an additional 412,574 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE IBM opened at $305.82 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $303.46 and a 200 day moving average of $282.50. The company has a market capitalization of $285.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $214.50 and a 1 year high of $324.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.10 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.76% and a net margin of 12.09%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid 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 dividend yield of 2.2%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $256.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.38.

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.