Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Decreases Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,857 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 960 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IBM. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,940 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 964 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 1,230 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Price Performance

International Business Machines stock traded down $2.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $179.86. 2,775,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,717,872. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.59. The firm has a market cap of $164.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $120.55 and a 12 month high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $17.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.60 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.04 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 $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Evercore raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.23.

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.