Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 788 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 712,574 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 788 shares during the period. International Business Machines comprises 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $156,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $600,373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702,340 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $573,306,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $370,909,000 after buying an additional 800,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 587.1% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $134,262,000 after buying an additional 536,785 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.53.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE IBM opened at $264.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $227.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.29. The company has a market capitalization of $244.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.76. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $162.62 and a 12 month high of $265.25.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.21%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.