Conning Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Conning Inc. cut its IBM stake by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,969 shares and leaving it with 106,852 shares valued at about $31.7 million.
• IBM beat Wall Street’s expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $1.91 EPS on $15.92 billion in revenue, with revenue up 9.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.69 per share, implying an annualized payout of $6.76 and a dividend yield of 3.1%.

Conning Inc. reduced its position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,852 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 17,969 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $31,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IBM. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. SWAN Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter worth $28,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1,666.7% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, Director Michael Miebach bought 434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.33 per share, for a total transaction of $101,265.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 434 shares in the company, valued at $101,265.22. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $218.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $212.34 and a 12 month high of $324.90. The business's 50-day moving average price is $241.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.44.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. International Business Machines's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

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

International Business Machines News Summary

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?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IBM. Dbs Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. DZ Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus set a $360.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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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