Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 3,459 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 49,452 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,459 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $10,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of IBM. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,665,256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,465,223,000 after acquiring an additional 126,547 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 6.0% during the third 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,746,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at approximately $573,306,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on IBM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Erste Group Bank raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 26,543 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,221.07. This trade represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Business Machines Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of IBM opened at $246.80 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $162.62 and a 1-year high of $266.45. The company has a market capitalization of $228.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.16.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.21%.

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.