Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Stake in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its position in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,008 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,478 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $14,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 413.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,634,577,000 after buying an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $1,236,176,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 29,564.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,399,790 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,940,520,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384,958 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,888 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IBM shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Melius Research raised shares of International Business Machines to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.19.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM traded up $3.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $285.22. 1,554,541 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,216,332. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.08 billion, a PE ratio of 49.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.69. The company's 50-day moving average is $275.65 and its 200 day moving average is $253.56. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52 week low of $181.81 and a 52 week high of $296.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.