Romano Brothers AND Company Sells 497 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Romano Brothers AND Company reduced its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,096 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 497 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines accounts for about 1.0% of Romano Brothers AND Company’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $7,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter worth approximately $7,160,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,117,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in International Business Machines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter worth approximately $24,761,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IBM. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.81.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $224.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $239.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $222.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 97.23%.

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.