Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 1,970 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA cut its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 30.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,462 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,970 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 971.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 67.9% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on International Business Machines from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.29.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $170.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $156.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.72. 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 1-year low of $129.18 and a 1-year high of $199.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $171.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.99.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.21% and a net margin of 13.18%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.65%.

International Business Machines Company 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.