MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC Sells 170 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC lessened its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,276 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,076,195 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,515,290,000 after purchasing an additional 365,388 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 13.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,280,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,919,490 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,465,214 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,048,631,000 after purchasing an additional 61,028 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $1,019,009,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,500,184 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $736,015,000 after purchasing an additional 97,482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.2 %

IBM traded up $2.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $172.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,193,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,570,876. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $131.55 and a twelve month high of $199.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.72.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on IBM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Wedbush upped their target price on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.53.

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.