Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 3,449 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 464,550 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,449 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.05% of International Business Machines worth $102,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,909,646 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,589,145,000 after purchasing an additional 427,499 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position 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 worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing 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 valued at $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% in 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 during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on IBM. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $248.50.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded up $4.54 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $253.74. 4,608,347 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,210,020. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $235.82 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $243.01 and a 200-day moving average of $234.91. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $163.53 and a 12 month high of $266.45.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $1.68 dividend. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 115.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Business Machines Company 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.