SFE Investment Counsel Decreases Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

SFE Investment Counsel trimmed its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,518 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 895 shares during the period. International Business Machines accounts for about 1.4% of SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $5,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 97.6% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 257,335 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,459,000 after buying an additional 127,093 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 177,599 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,157,000 after purchasing an additional 46,756 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 1.9% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 95,662 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 382,232 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $49,698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Evercore upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and issued a $143.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.67.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE IBM traded down $1.95 during trading on Thursday, hitting $181.15. 1,810,413 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,788,086. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $120.55 and a 12 month high of $199.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $166.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 39.55% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.67%.

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.