Legal & General Group Plc Sells 2,235,612 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,806,018 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,235,612 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,496,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,465,223,000 after buying an additional 126,547 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,236,176,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,036,860 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $887,423,000 after acquiring an additional 194,814 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $227.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $210.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $251.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.66. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $162.62 and a 1 year high of $266.45.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 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%. On average, research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on IBM shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.13.

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.