Avanza Fonder AB Decreases Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Avanza Fonder AB reduced its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 12.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,118 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,567 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $14,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JBR Co Financial Management Inc boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 6,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 3,972 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 0.9% in the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,805 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its position in International Business Machines by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.2%

IBM opened at $272.13 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. The company has a market cap of $252.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.46. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $166.81 and a fifty-two week high of $275.26.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 115.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on IBM. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.31.

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.