Lathrop Investment Management Corp Cuts Stock Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Lathrop Investment Management Corp lessened its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 49,077 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Lathrop Investment Management Corp’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $8,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 971.4% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 67.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cordant Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 753.3% in the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of IBM stock traded down $1.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $167.13. The company had a trading volume of 8,983,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,906,041. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.13. 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 capitalization of $153.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.15.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 9.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $1.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore upgraded International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Friday. Societe Generale reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $143.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on International Business Machines from $165.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.08.

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.