Howard Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,057 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 979 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in International Business Machines during the 3rd quarter valued at $573,306,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after buying an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in International Business Machines by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,687,253 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $370,909,000 after buying an additional 800,930 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 23,311.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 697,182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $153,262,000 after buying an additional 694,204 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 587.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $134,262,000 after buying an additional 536,785 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $261.77 on Monday. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $265.72. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a market cap of $242.05 billion, a PE ratio of 40.84, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.76.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share 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 expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IBM. UBS Group boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

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.