Strategic Advocates LLC Sells 545 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Strategic Advocates LLC lessened its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,125 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 545 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ellenbecker Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.3% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,123 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on IBM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,463,928. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Business Machines Stock Up 12.9 %

Shares of IBM opened at $258.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $225.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $238.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.28, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $261.80.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 40.37%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.54 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

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.