Essex Financial Services Inc. Trims Holdings in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,779 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 8,604 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $8,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 37.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 222 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 240 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM traded down $3.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.67. 8,482,235 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,480,485. The company has a market cap of $197.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines Co. has a 1 year low of $141.58 and a 1 year high of $237.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $215.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 40.59%. The business had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on IBM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday. DZ Bank cut shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of International Business Machines to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $208.12.

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.