Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 1,174 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,361 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,174 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $11,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 971.4% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 67.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cordant Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 753.3% in the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BNP Paribas started coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $168.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,154,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,949,592. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.88. The stock has a market cap of $154.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $120.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 75.20%.

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.