Advisor Resource Council Cuts Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Advisor Resource Council lowered its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 53.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,739 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,303 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at $801,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 43.0% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,840 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 4,165 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.3% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 11,878 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at about $731,000. Finally, LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 15.4% during the third quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,052 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.53.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM stock traded down $1.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $175.73. 1,649,049 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,576,998. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $161.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.71. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $131.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 75.65%.

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.