Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 70,460 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $15,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,148,717,000 after purchasing an additional 294,276 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $602,819,000 after buying an additional 12,400 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after buying an additional 2,702,340 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $573,306,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on IBM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.53.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $252.31 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $265.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market cap of $233.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $229.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.92.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 104.21%.

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.