BLB&B Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)

BLB&B Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,413 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 995 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $5,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IBM. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 1st quarter valued at about $396,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,000,000. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.8% in the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 141,448 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of IBM stock traded up $4.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $291.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,851,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,552,883. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.16 billion, a PE ratio of 50.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.69. The company's fifty day moving average is $265.93 and its 200 day moving average is $248.79. International Business Machines Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $173.95 and a fifty-two week high of $296.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced 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. International Business Machines had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 37.43%. The firm had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is 115.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on IBM shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, KGI Securities set a $242.00 target price on International Business Machines and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $257.50.

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.