International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Sold by Verity Asset Management Inc.

Verity Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 55.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,741 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 19,273 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines accounts for about 1.8% of Verity Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellenbecker Investment Group raised its stake in International Business Machines by 2.3% in 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 raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,123 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.53.

International Business Machines Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE IBM opened at $260.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.76. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $262.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 38.99%. Research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.21%.

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.