International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Stock Position Lowered by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lessened its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 281,112 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,863 shares during the period. International Business Machines comprises approximately 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $69,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 853.7% in the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after acquiring an additional 11,081 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 4,766 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 3,698 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 7,085 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diligent Investors LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 9,136 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE IBM opened at $266.75 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $166.80 and a one year high of $269.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.92 billion, a PE ratio of 41.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $1.68 dividend. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 115.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, KGI Securities set a $242.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.06.

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.