International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Sold by Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bank lowered its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,739 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,116 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 971.4% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $184.78. 460,138 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,862,461. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $169.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $188.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.13. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $120.55 and a 52-week high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $1.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on IBM. Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.85.

International Business Machines 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.