Essex Savings Bank Has $1.75 Million Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Essex Savings Bank trimmed its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,960 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 40.9% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,160,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,117,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,615,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $24,761,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $220.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $222.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.16. The company has a market cap of $203.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $239.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. The company 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on IBM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.81.

International Business Machines Company 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.