Ridgewood Investments LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Ridgewood Investments LLC reduced its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,673 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,177 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 4.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,467,974,000 after buying an additional 330,694 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,274,074,000 after buying an additional 444,698 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,148,717,000 after buying an additional 294,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,796,206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $829,431,000 after buying an additional 304,390 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Trading Down 2.2 %

International Business Machines stock traded down $4.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $218.32. 824,733 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,660,463. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $160.29 and a fifty-two week high of $239.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bernstein Bank increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.88.

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.