Empirical Finance LLC Sells 386 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,854 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 386 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $6,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,195,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,148,717,000 after acquiring an additional 294,276 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in International Business Machines by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,726,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $602,819,000 after acquiring an additional 12,400 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702,340 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $573,306,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM stock opened at $252.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.04. International Business Machines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.62 and a fifty-two week high of $265.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $229.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.92. The company has a market capitalization of $233.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.36, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.76.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 10.75 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.53.

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.