International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Holdings Reduced by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,276 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,940 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $7,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 40.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,940,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $373,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,117,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $264.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.86. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $265.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $244.38 billion, a PE ratio of 41.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.76.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, 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 at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush initiated coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.53.

International Business Machines Profile

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.