International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) Shares Sold by Beech Hill Advisors Inc.

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,975 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,756 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines comprises approximately 1.5% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 174.3% during the 4th quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 192 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KGI Securities set a $242.00 target price on International Business Machines and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group restated a "sell" rating and set a $170.00 target price (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $253.75.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.8%

IBM stock traded down $2.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $289.69. 3,560,346 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,223,880. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $262.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.86, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.66. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52-week low of $173.38 and a 52-week high of $296.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.43% and a net margin of 8.71%. The firm's revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 115.66%.

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.