Axa S.A. Sells 104,571 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

AXA S.A. trimmed its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 292,731 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 104,571 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $64,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,589,145,000 after acquiring an additional 427,499 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in International Business Machines by 413.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,634,577,000 after acquiring an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,465,223,000 after buying an additional 126,547 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded up $5.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,731,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,210,203. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $163.53 and a 1-year high of $266.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $1.68 dividend. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is 115.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $248.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.