Flputnam Investment Management Co. Reduces Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management cut its IBM stake by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,810 shares and leaving it with 94,298 shares valued at about $27.9 million.
• IBM reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.91 versus the $1.81 estimate and revenue of $15.92 billion, with revenue up 9.5% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.69 per share, implying an annualized payout of $6.76 and a yield of about 2.7%.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. decreased its position in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,298 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 8,810 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $27,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Capital World Investors increased its stake 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 worth $4,809,461,000 after buying an additional 2,077,506 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $28,796,390,000 after buying an additional 1,439,824 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake 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 worth $861,401,000 after buying an additional 865,253 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,162,741 shares of the technology company's stock worth $610,239,000 after purchasing an additional 849,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,777,516 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,382,695,000 after purchasing an additional 725,191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE IBM opened at $251.69 on Wednesday. International Business Machines Corporation has a one year low of $212.34 and a one year high of $324.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.58.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.77%.

International Business Machines News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM is being seen as a key beneficiary of the U.S. government’s quantum computing funding plan, which has boosted enthusiasm for its quantum ambitions and may provide additional support for the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: IBM signed a five-year global technology modernization agreement with Abertis, a new enterprise deal that could add to consulting revenue and reinforce IBM’s role in digital transformation projects. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from analysts and media outlets suggests IBM’s quantum business is helping investor sentiment, but the near-term move is also tied to broader excitement across quantum stocks and ETFs rather than IBM-specific earnings changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage notes IBM has struggled over the past year and remains under pressure versus its longer-term trend, which may temper investor enthusiasm despite the latest positive headlines. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday. Citigroup began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. 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 research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $294.41.

International Business Machines Company 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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