Poplar Forest Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 209,792 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 90,171 shares during the period. International Business Machines makes up about 5.0% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $34,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 971.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cordant Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 753.3% in the 4th quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 256 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded up $1.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.01. The company had a trading volume of 7,569,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,806,687. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $120.55 and a 52 week high of $199.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $188.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.98. The stock has a market cap of $168.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. 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 39.55% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 81.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IBM shares. Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.23.

International Business Machines Company 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.