ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Cuts Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,282 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 708 shares during the period. International Business Machines accounts for 1.2% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $9,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 1,054.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in International Business Machines by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of IBM traded up $3.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $221.42. 267,797 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,908,006. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $222.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.16. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $239.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $204.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IBM. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. 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 note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company 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.