Trust Co. of Vermont Lowers Position in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Trust Co. of Vermont lessened its stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,826 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,388 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $10,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gill Capital Partners LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the technology company's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. GoalFusion Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. GoalFusion Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the technology company's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,555 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in International Business Machines by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 4,648 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in International Business Machines by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 107,957 shares of the technology company's stock worth $23,732,000 after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on International Business Machines from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $215.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total transaction of $774,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 25,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of IBM stock traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $224.73. The stock had a trading volume of 5,481,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,994,162. International Business Machines Co. has a 12-month low of $162.62 and a 12-month high of $239.35. The company has a market cap of $207.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.66.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 40.52% and a net margin of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. International Business Machines's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 97.23%.

About International Business Machines

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.