Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 142,063 Shares of International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. increased its IBM holdings by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 142,063 shares to reach 840,407 shares valued at about $248.9 million.
• IBM continues to attract mixed Wall Street views: analysts now have an average Moderate Buy rating, with a consensus price target of $294.41, though some firms recently lowered targets or kept cautious ratings.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating estimates with $1.91 EPS and $15.92 billion in revenue, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.69 per share for a 3.1% yield.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 840,407 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 142,063 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of International Business Machines worth $248,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SWAN Capital LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1,666.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IBM. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC raised shares of International Business Machines from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $231.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Argus set a $360.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised shares of International Business Machines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $236.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Miebach acquired 434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.33 per share, with a total value of $101,265.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,265.22. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM rolled out two new IBM Cloud managed services, Red Hat AI Inference and OpenShift Virtualization, aimed at accelerating AI adoption and securing virtual workloads. The move highlights IBM’s effort to monetize enterprise AI demand and deepen its cloud platform stickiness. Can IBM's Advanced AI and Virtualization Offerings Boost Its Shares?
• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s consulting unit is being repositioned around a new AI delivery model that uses small, senior teams to turn strategy into execution faster. That could support services revenue and improve IBM’s reputation as an enterprise AI implementation partner. A New Way to Make AI Actually Work in the Real World
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces argued that IBM’s broader AI and blockchain initiatives from its Think 2026 event could help the company build trust in enterprise AI, but these were mostly thematic analyses rather than new material business updates. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Using Blockchain to Build Trust In AI
• Negative Sentiment: A separate market note said IBM’s price target was lowered by $30, which suggests some analysts are becoming more cautious about the near-term outlook despite the company’s AI push. IBM Price Target Lowered by $30
• Negative Sentiment: Another article highlighted IBM among beaten-down stocks that are still well below recent highs, underscoring that sentiment has been weak and the shares remain under pressure from earlier declines. Catching Falling Knives: Is It Time to Buy These Beaten-Down Stocks?

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.8%

IBM opened at $218.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.58. International Business Machines Corporation has a 12 month low of $212.34 and a 12 month high of $324.90. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $241.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.44. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 37.23%. The firm's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. International Business Machines's payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

About International Business Machines

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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