Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. has decreased its stake in IBM by 23.8%, selling 184,225 shares to hold a total of 588,245 shares worth approximately $146 million.
• IBM's recent earnings report showed $2.80 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 7.7% year-over-year.
• Brokerages are optimistic about IBM, with multiple firms raising their price targets, including Royal Bank Of Canada increasing their target from $285 to $315.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 588,245 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 184,225 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.06% of International Business Machines worth $146,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,137,767 shares of the technology company's stock worth $23,159,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,515 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,112,092 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,783,281,000 after acquiring an additional 722,582 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.0% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,516,240 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,371,812,000 after acquiring an additional 52,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 20.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,157,846 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,282,550,000 after acquiring an additional 889,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.9%

International Business Machines stock traded down $2.14 on Friday, hitting $243.59. 2,962,736 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,689,066. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market cap of $226.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.69. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $266.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.71. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $198.27 and a 1 year high of $296.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.58 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.62% and a net margin of 9.11%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. International Business Machines has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. International Business Machines's payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on IBM shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $268.75.

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.