California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,615,557 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 492,359 shares during the period. International Business Machines accounts for 0.7% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.50% of International Business Machines worth $1,014,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in International Business Machines by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.01, for a total transaction of $6,715,644.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,007 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $233.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective 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. Wedbush started coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.0 %

IBM opened at $243.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. International Business Machines Co. has a one year low of $162.62 and a one year high of $266.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $249.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.47.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

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.