Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Position in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Fifth Third Wealth Advisors boosted its IBM stake by 75.4% in the first quarter, ending with 28,926 shares valued at about $7.0 million.
• IBM is drawing upbeat analyst and investor attention, with JPMorgan upgrading the stock to Overweight/Buy and raising its price target to $291 amid optimism about software growth, AI adoption, and quantum computing.
• The company’s latest results were solid, as IBM beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, and it also increased its dividend to $1.69 per share, supporting a 2.6% yield.

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 75.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,926 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,430 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $7,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, SWAN Capital LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM announced a partnership with OpenAI through the Daybreak Cyber Partner Program, expanding its AI-powered cybersecurity offering and potentially opening a new growth avenue for enterprise security work. IBM and OpenAI Bring Frontier AI to Cyber Defense--Helping Enterprises Keep Pace with Machine-Speed Threats
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded IBM to Overweight/Buy and raised its price target to $291, citing improving confidence in IBM’s software growth and AI adoption story. IBM Stock Resists Tech Slump as J.P. Morgan Cheers Its Software Makeover
• Positive Sentiment: IBM also benefited from renewed enthusiasm around its quantum computing strategy after U.S. policy moves highlighted IBM as a key domestic quantum winner and boosted sentiment toward the company’s long-term technology roadmap.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage noted strong investor attention and heavier-than-usual trading in IBM, suggesting momentum is being driven more by headlines and analyst action than by a new earnings release.
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM extended $2.5 billion of syndicated credit facilities, improving liquidity and financial flexibility, but this is more of a balance-sheet support item than a direct earnings catalyst. IBM Extends Syndicated Credit Facilities, Enhancing Liquidity
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary warned that despite the recent rally, IBM may face limits to further near-term upside if software estimate revisions or broader tech weakness cool enthusiasm.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on IBM. Wall Street Zen upgraded International Business Machines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. DZ Bank raised shares of International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research cut shares of International Business Machines to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $291.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC raised shares of International Business Machines from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $218.00 to $231.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.94.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE:IBM opened at $262.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.58. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $212.34 and a 1 year high of $332.46.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. 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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