ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,223,458 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 47,067 shares during the period. International Business Machines makes up approximately 0.6% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of International Business Machines worth $268,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,384,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,465,223,000 after acquiring an additional 126,547 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on IBM shares. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $170.00 target price (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $276.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $258.19 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.51. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $163.53 and a 52 week high of $266.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a market cap of $239.96 billion, a PE ratio of 40.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 115.66%.

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.