Dupree Financial Group LLC Cuts Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Dupree Financial Group LLC decreased its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,167 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. Dupree Financial Group LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IBM. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 1st quarter worth $3,026,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,333 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in International Business Machines by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 3,517 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.6% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 18,187 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 29.6% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IBM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $182.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bernstein Bank upped their target price on International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.71.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM opened at $232.25 on Wednesday. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $237.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.12.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $15.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.