Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Sells 8,748 Shares of International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC reduced its position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 49.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,830 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,748 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 10.6% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 65.7% in the second quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 5.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 4,750 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the second quarter worth about $210,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $253.38 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $280.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.68. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1-year low of $214.50 and a 1-year high of $324.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $237.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.73.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.33 by $0.19. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The firm had revenue of $19.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.92 EPS. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.68 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 60.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on IBM. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Oppenheimer set a $380.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of International Business Machines to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David N. Farr bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $304.00 per share, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814,432. The trade was a 12.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Miebach acquired 434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.33 per share, with a total value of $101,265.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 434 shares in the company, valued at $101,265.22. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 1,484 shares of company stock worth $417,157. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.