Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,665 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 697 shares during the quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% during 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 buying an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 427,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position 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 worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 18.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in International Business Machines by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,465,223,000 after purchasing an additional 126,547 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.06.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $268.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $249.39 billion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $163.53 and a 1 year high of $269.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm 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 2.50%. This is an increase 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.