Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,700 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $10,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,148,717,000 after acquiring an additional 294,276 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in International Business Machines by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $602,819,000 after purchasing an additional 12,400 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $600,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $573,306,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $254.85 on Wednesday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $162.62 and a 52 week high of $265.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $235.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.76, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $230.19 and a 200-day moving average of $217.78.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

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.