CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Purchases 100 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,546 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 971.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on IBM shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $143.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $144.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.85.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $190.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,988,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,099,540. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.19. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $120.55 and a one year high of $199.18. The firm has a market cap of $174.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.29 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

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.