Farmers Trust Co. Cuts Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Farmers Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,254 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,716 shares during the period. International Business Machines comprises 1.9% of Farmers Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $10,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ellenbecker Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.3% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Goldstein Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 1,503 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on IBM. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.88.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM traded down $0.83 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $223.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,509,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,812,005. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $206.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $159.51 and a one year high of $239.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.49.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares in the company, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.