E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. reduced its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,665,386 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $272,374,000 after acquiring an additional 36,403 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $549,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,760 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.29.

International Business Machines Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded down $3.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $166.27. The stock had a trading volume of 4,263,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,926,213. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $184.80 and its 200-day moving average is $171.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $120.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 75.65%.

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.