Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Cuts Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,212 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 333 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 164.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 198 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in International Business Machines by 54.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 218 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.53.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $175.00. 497,850 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,489,148. The firm has a market cap of $160.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $131.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.75.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

About International Business Machines

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.