American Investment Services Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

American Investment Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,524 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,801 shares during the period. American Investment Services Inc.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IBM. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in International Business Machines by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 495,574 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,942,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $242,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $373,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 811,062 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $178,296,000 after buying an additional 49,591 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,000,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $11,387,221.07. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $249.06.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM traded down $3.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $260.20. 2,315,654 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,210,109. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.83 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G 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 $269.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $245.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.02.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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%. The company's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 2.58%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's payout ratio 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.