ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $2.61 Million Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,985 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 635 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,940 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 964 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 7,131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $181.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,037,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,780,670. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $188.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.91. The firm has a market cap of $166.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $120.55 and a 52 week high of $199.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

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

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on IBM. Evercore ISI raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Evercore raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Societe Generale reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.67.

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.