Foster & Motley Inc. Buys New Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 31,412 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,833,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 424.6% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 260,740 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $77,234,000 after buying an additional 211,040 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 24.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 64,458 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,624,000 after buying an additional 12,791 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 18,288 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,417,000 after buying an additional 2,930 shares in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,317,000. Finally, Sage Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,101,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on IBM shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded International Business Machines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $265.90.

Key Headlines Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quantum-computing advances support IBM’s growth narrative. IBM reportedly achieved a 25-fold throughput improvement, reinforcing its position in quantum hardware and software and adding to investor enthusiasm around emerging technology opportunities. Quantum Computing News: IBM Hits 25x Throughput Gain, RGTI Shows Up to 100x Speedup
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation and shareholder returns are attracting buyers. One analysis says IBM may trade below estimates of intrinsic value based on discounted cash flow, earnings and cash-flow multiples. Its long-term return, sizable dividend and reported $1.69-per-share distribution strengthen the income and value case. IBM Stock Could Be Below Fair Value Despite Cautious Broader Checks
• Positive Sentiment: AI and strategic investments broaden IBM’s growth prospects. IBM remains a favored long-term AI stock among retail investors, while IBM Ventures’ investment in physics-acceleration company BQP provides additional exposure to advanced computing. IBM Ventures Backs Physics Acceleration Firm BQP
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM’s latest trading-session advance reflected broader market strength, but the company’s shares remain below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating that technical momentum is still mixed. IBM Beats Stock Market Upswing
• Negative Sentiment: A law-firm investigation adds headline and litigation risk. Bleichmar Fonti & Auld announced an investigation into potential misrepresentations concerning IBM’s business deal pace. The inquiry does not establish wrongdoing, but it could pressure the stock if additional claims or weak bookings emerge. IBM Under Investigation for Securities Fraud

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Thomas sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total value of $5,758,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 47,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,009,296. This represents a 34.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $234.00 on Friday. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $199.19 and a 1 year high of $332.46. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $242.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.21. The company has a market cap of $220.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.52% and a return on equity of 35.65%. The firm had revenue of $17.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is currently 59.98%.

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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