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

Forte Capital LLC ADV reduced its position in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,416 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 15,439.1% during 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 during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 13.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in 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 valued at $890,322,000 after purchasing an additional 871,247 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 4.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,970,674 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,398,886,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 162.4% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 621,682 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $87,204,000 after buying an additional 384,744 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $165.71. The stock had a trading volume of 3,400,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,768,629. The company has a market cap of $152.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $120.55 and a 1 year high of $199.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $185.75 and a 200 day moving average of $171.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.13.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 40.21%. The company 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 earned $1.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $1.67 dividend. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.