Howe & Rusling Inc. Reduces Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Howe & Rusling Inc. decreased its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,147 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JBR Co Financial Management Inc raised 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Callan Capital LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 1,870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,425 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,292,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,376 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE IBM opened at $246.30 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $266.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $249.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.38 billion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

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.