International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Shares Sold by Levin Capital Strategies L.P.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 164,681 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,912 shares during the period. International Business Machines accounts for about 2.9% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $26,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 15,439.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,653,462 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $433,974,000 after buying an additional 2,636,386 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 13.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,257,789 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,280,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,919,490 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 15.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,345,842 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $890,322,000 after purchasing an additional 871,247 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 10.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,691,369 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,219,399,000 after purchasing an additional 807,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,970,674 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,398,886,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI raised shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $164.19. 2,185,643 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,977,105. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $120.55 and a one year high of $199.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $186.54 and its 200 day moving average is $170.87.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.20%.

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.