Inspire Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Inspire Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,998 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IBM. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 164.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 198 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 123 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 firms have recently weighed in on IBM. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.60.

International Business Machines Price Performance

International Business Machines stock opened at $214.79 on Monday. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $216.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $192.83 and a 200-day moving average of $183.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

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

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. 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.