ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 832 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,159 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 832 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,152,714 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,833,642,000 after purchasing an additional 5,546,855 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,487,827 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,467,974,000 after purchasing an additional 330,694 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,366,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,274,074,000 after purchasing an additional 444,698 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,796,206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $829,431,000 after purchasing an additional 304,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 151.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $671,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,165 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $233.64 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $210.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.54. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $237.37. The firm has a market cap of $214.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The firm had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 75.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of International Business Machines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.82.

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.