Lafayette Investments Inc. Reduces Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,659 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 971.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Evercore raised International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.67.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.3 %

IBM stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $182.05. 664,852 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,748,505. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $120.55 and a 1-year high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.29 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 39.55% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

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.