Calamos Advisors LLC Trims Stake in International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 129,042 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,685 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $21,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 97.6% in the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 257,335 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,459,000 after purchasing an additional 127,093 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 35.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 177,599 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,157,000 after acquiring an additional 46,756 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.9% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 95,662 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 382,232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,698,000 after acquiring an additional 5,506 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE IBM traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $182.44. The stock had a trading volume of 390,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,744,981. The business’s 50 day moving average is $188.56 and its 200-day moving average is $168.63. The company has a market cap of $167.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.70. International Business Machines Co. has a 52 week low of $120.55 and a 52 week high of $199.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $155.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.67.

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.