International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Sold by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. lowered its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,147 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of IBM. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $592,746,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $573,306,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in 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 worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake 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 worth $370,909,000 after buying an additional 800,930 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on IBM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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 began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

International Business Machines Price Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $246.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $249.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.01.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

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.