International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) Stake Reduced by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,652 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 356 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,041 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 12.4% during the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 1st quarter valued at $81,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,967,000. Finally, Narus Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 8.4% during the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,979 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on IBM. Wedbush boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.53.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM traded down $1.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $175.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,647,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,520,448. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.76. The stock has a market cap of $161.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $131.55 and a fifty-two week high of $199.18.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 75.65%.

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.