MJP Associates Inc. ADV Decreases Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV lessened its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,473 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 493 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% during the 4th 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after acquiring an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,465,223,000 after purchasing an additional 126,547 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on IBM shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.50.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related 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 transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.9%

IBM opened at $249.32 on Monday. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $163.53 and a 12 month high of $266.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $243.01 and a 200 day moving average of $234.91. The company has a market cap of $231.72 billion, a PE ratio of 38.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.66%.

International Business Machines 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.