Welch Group LLC Has $73.50 Million Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Welch Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 301,213 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 18,034 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines accounts for 3.2% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $73,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 413.5% during the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,783,281,000 after purchasing an additional 722,582 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $258.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $246.19 and its 200 day moving average is $239.48. 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 firm has a market cap of $240.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $163.53 and a one year high of $269.28.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 115.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on IBM. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KGI Securities set a $242.00 price objective on International Business Machines and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.06.

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.