Insider Selling: International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) SVP Sells $6,715,644.43 in Stock

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.7 %

International Business Machines stock opened at $251.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $240.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.58. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.62 and a fifty-two week high of $265.72. The company has a market capitalization of $233.11 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. Research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IBM shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of 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. Oppenheimer began coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 413.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after acquiring an additional 9,650,534 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth about $592,746,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $573,306,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in International Business Machines by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.