IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Sells 2,000 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd decreased its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,746 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. International Business Machines comprises 1.0% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $8,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $592,746,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $573,306,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $370,909,000 after purchasing an additional 800,930 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $250.26 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $248.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.90. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $162.62 and a 52-week high of $266.45. The company has a market cap of $232.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Business Machines Company 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.