Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 275 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,301 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $8,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IBM. State Street Corp grew its position in International Business Machines by 2.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,465,223,000 after acquiring an additional 126,547 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,148,717,000 after acquiring an additional 294,276 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in International Business Machines by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $602,819,000 after acquiring an additional 12,400 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $592,746,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on IBM shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of IBM opened at $256.93 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $266.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.24 billion, a PE ratio of 40.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.05.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.