Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. Sells 2,120 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,080 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,120 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines makes up 1.4% of Brooks Moore & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in International Business Machines by 2.1% during the 4th 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 holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 126,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $248.50.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of IBM traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $254.24. 3,633,605 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,206,063. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.29 billion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $163.53 and a 1-year high of $266.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $243.00 and a 200-day moving average of $234.51.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.66%.

About International Business Machines

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.