Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC Decreases Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lessened its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 42.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,455 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,058 shares during the quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in International Business Machines by 413.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $592,746,000. 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $249.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock traded down $1.24 on Thursday, hitting $259.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,000,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,197,462. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $163.53 and a twelve month high of $269.28. 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 firm has a market cap of $240.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $245.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.17.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $14.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. International Business Machines's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is 115.66%.

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.