Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 246 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,636 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 246 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $6,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 971.4% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 67.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 753.3% in the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 256 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded down $2.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $166.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,968,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,968,498. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $120.55 and a twelve month high of $199.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $188.00 and a 200-day moving average of $169.97. The stock has a market cap of $152.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.50% and a net margin of 13.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Societe Generale restated a “sell” rating and issued a $143.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Evercore upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.08.

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.