Morningstar Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,371 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 365 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 7,035 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 47,643 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,473,000 after acquiring an additional 13,234 shares in the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $328,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 355,742 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,203,000 after acquiring an additional 43,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on IBM shares. Wedbush started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $263.98 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $244.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $234.00 and its 200 day moving average is $220.96. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $162.62 and a twelve month high of $265.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio 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.