International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 54.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,861 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 1,875 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $431,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $761,000. Smith Anglin Financial LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,697,000. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,573 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM stock opened at $190.80 on Thursday. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $120.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $186.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.98.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 39.55% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $144.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Evercore raised International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 5th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Societe Generale reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.85.

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.