8,259,103 Shares in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM Acquired by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in IBM, buying 8,259,103 shares valued at about $2.45 billion, giving it roughly 0.88% ownership of the company.
• IBM is drawing attention for major growth initiatives, including a $10 billion quantum computing investment plan and Project Lightwell, a $5 billion collaboration with Red Hat focused on AI and open-source security.
• The stock has been performing well, with IBM trading up 12.9%, while earnings beat expectations and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.69 per share. Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,259,103 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,446,429,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.88% of International Business Machines as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IBM. Capital World Investors raised its position in International Business Machines by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,045,156 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,809,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,077,506 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in International Business Machines by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,216,131 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,796,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,824 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in International Business Machines by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,052,880 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $861,401,000 after purchasing an additional 865,253 shares in the last quarter. Valpey Financial Services LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 27,670.9% during the 4th quarter. Valpey Financial Services LLC now owns 867,007 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $256,816,000 after purchasing an additional 863,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in International Business Machines by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,162,741 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $610,239,000 after purchasing an additional 849,500 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key International Business Machines News

Here are the key news stories impacting International Business Machines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IBM unveiled a more than $10 billion quantum computing investment plan, reinforcing its leadership in an emerging high-growth market. IBM to invest $10 billion for large-scale quantum computer by 2029
• Positive Sentiment: IBM and Red Hat launched Project Lightwell, a $5 billion push to secure open-source software with AI tools and 20,000 engineers, which could strengthen its enterprise security franchise. IBM and Red Hat Commit $5 Billion to Redefine the Future of Open Source in the AI Era
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its target to $320, signaling continued analyst confidence in IBM’s upside. IBM Is Chasing A '$1 Trillion Value Creation Engine' — And It's Spending $15 Billion To Get There

International Business Machines Trading Up 12.9%

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $298.26 on Friday. International Business Machines Corporation has a 12-month low of $212.34 and a 12-month high of $324.90. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $240.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.98. The company has a market capitalization of $280.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.23% and a net margin of 15.61%.The business had revenue of $15.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.69 per share. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IBM. Argus set a $360.00 target price on International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 price target on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $294.41.

International Business Machines Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM's principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.

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