Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $7.54 Million Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,099 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,924 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $7,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in International Business Machines by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,940 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 964 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 1,230 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Security Advisor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.29.

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM traded up $1.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.71. 3,400,405 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,768,629. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $185.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.09. International Business Machines Co. has a twelve month low of $120.55 and a twelve month high of $199.18. The company has a market cap of $152.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.20%.

International Business Machines Profile

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.