First Affirmative Financial Network Sells 210 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

First Affirmative Financial Network trimmed its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,913 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $1,236,176,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 29,564.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,399,790 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,940,520,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384,958 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $592,746,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in International Business Machines by 18.6% during 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. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $268.95 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $166.81 and a 1 year high of $270.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.96 billion, a PE ratio of 41.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $1.68 dividend. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on IBM shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.06.

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.