E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Sells 619 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,649 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 619 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,076,195 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,515,290,000 after acquiring an additional 365,388 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in International Business Machines by 13.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,280,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,919,490 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,970,674 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,398,886,000 after buying an additional 404,948 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,465,214 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,048,631,000 after buying an additional 61,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,345,842 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $890,322,000 after acquiring an additional 871,247 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:IBM traded down $3.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $166.27. 4,263,483 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,926,213. The company’s 50 day moving average is $184.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.86. The company has a market capitalization of $152.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $120.55 and a twelve month high of $199.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on IBM. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. BNP Paribas began coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.29.

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.