Monte Financial Group LLC Lowers Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Monte Financial Group LLC lowered its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,771 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702,340 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $573,306,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 587.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $134,262,000 after purchasing an additional 536,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 886,323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $195,948,000 after purchasing an additional 449,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.73.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

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

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $224.69 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $224.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $162.62 and a 1-year high of $239.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.