International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Sold by Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.

Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,859 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. International Business Machines makes up approximately 3.3% of Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $4,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in International Business Machines by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 134.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.0 %

International Business Machines stock opened at $243.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.62 and a fifty-two week high of $266.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $249.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.47.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.