Moody National Bank Trust Division Cuts Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Moody National Bank Trust Division lowered its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,633 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IBM. Capital World Investors boosted its position in International Business Machines by 413.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,984,609 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,634,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650,534 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $1,236,176,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $592,746,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,845,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,384,275,000 after buying an additional 1,704,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,839,252 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,189,023,000 after buying an additional 1,539,888 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IBM shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on International Business Machines from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up previously from $160.00) on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.06.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $258.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $163.53 and a 52-week high of $269.28.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $14.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.41 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. Research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $1.68 dividend. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total value of $6,715,644.43. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This represents a 37.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.