International Business Machines Corporation $IBM Shares Sold by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its stake in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 229,906 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 87,252 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines comprises 1.1% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $68,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,323 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the second quarter worth approximately $274,000. Smith Moore & CO. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 50.7% in the second quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 5,312 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the second quarter worth approximately $207,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $237.17 on Tuesday. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $214.50 and a 1 year high of $324.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $264.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.96.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.33 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $19.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 15.69%.The company’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a $1.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $350.00 to $290.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David N. Farr acquired 1,000 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814,432. This represents a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Miebach acquired 434 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.33 per share, with a total value of $101,265.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,265.22. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 1,484 shares of company stock valued at $417,157 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

International Business Machines 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.