Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. Sells 350 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,930 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines makes up approximately 1.6% of Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702,340 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $573,306,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $370,909,000 after buying an additional 800,930 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 23,311.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 697,182 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,262,000 after buying an additional 694,204 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Trading Up 2.2 %

IBM opened at $254.85 on Wednesday. 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. International Business Machines Co. has a 12 month low of $162.62 and a 12 month high of $265.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $230.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.78.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

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.