International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 139,973 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 28,780 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $30,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IBM. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc increased its position in International Business Machines by 174.3% in the 4th quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.50.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $253.74 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $163.53 and a 1 year high of $266.45. The company has a market capitalization of $235.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $243.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.19.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $1.68 dividend. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 115.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.