Comerica Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Comerica Bank lowered its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 312,724 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 18,952 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $68,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Capital World Investors raised its position in International Business Machines by 413.5% in the fourth 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $592,746,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,384,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded down $2.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $239.46. 4,239,452 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,207,353. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock's fifty day moving average is $243.42 and its 200 day moving average is $234.06. The firm has a market cap of $222.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.67. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $162.62 and a 1 year high of $266.45.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. International Business Machines's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 114.97%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on IBM shares. StockNews.com raised shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $242.41.

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.