ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Trims Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,282 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 708 shares during the period. International Business Machines accounts for about 1.2% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $9,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 1,054.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter worth $29,000. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.81.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded up $3.67 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $221.42. The stock had a trading volume of 267,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,908,006. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.01. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $162.62 and a 12 month high of $239.35. The stock has a market cap of $204.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

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.