Candriam S.C.A. Sells 7,497 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,832 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,497 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $26,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,307,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,803 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,465,223,000 after purchasing an additional 126,547 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,148,717,000 after purchasing an additional 294,276 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $602,819,000 after purchasing an additional 12,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $592,746,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $248.54 on Friday. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $265.72. The company has a market cap of $230.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $240.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.74. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 38.99%. Equities analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.21%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.