Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 788 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 712,574 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 788 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines comprises approximately 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.08% of International Business Machines worth $156,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,940,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $373,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter worth approximately $5,117,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 75,638 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,615,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on IBM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.53.

International Business Machines Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $264.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $244.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.23, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.76. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $265.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $227.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. Analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate 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.