IMA Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• IMA Advisory Services dramatically increased its IBM stake in the fourth quarter, lifting holdings by 34,512.5% to 2,769 shares worth about $820,000.
• IBM is drawing attention from analysts and investors thanks to AI and quantum-computing initiatives, including a new partnership with Google Cloud and continued commentary that its spending could support long-term growth.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and raised its dividend to $1.69 per share, though some Wall Street firms have trimmed price targets amid mixed views on the stock.

IMA Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 34,512.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,769 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in 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 worth $77,234,000 after purchasing an additional 211,040 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,930 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 993,743 shares of the technology company's stock worth $280,439,000 after purchasing an additional 32,072 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,122 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 114,395 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,278,000 after purchasing an additional 38,973 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reportedly reset its IBM price target, citing stronger AI momentum and continued demand for IBM’s enterprise software and consulting offerings.
• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s new strategic partnership with Google Cloud to scale enterprise AI adoption is being seen as a meaningful growth driver, with the deal aimed at helping customers modernize systems and bring AI into production faster. IBM and Google Cloud Announce Strategic Partnership to Scale AI with Human Expertise and AI‑Powered Delivery
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces highlighted IBM’s large quantum-computing investment as a long-term catalyst, with some analysts saying the company is strengthening its position in an emerging high-growth market. IBM Stock’s $10 Billion Quantum Catalyst Is Here
• Positive Sentiment: Citi also pointed to IBM’s growing role in quantum computing, reinforcing the view that the company’s heavy spending could secure a leadership position in a market with major future upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM shares were included in broader market coverage of stocks making big moves, reflecting elevated trading interest but not adding a clearly new company-specific catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: A former IBM cybersecurity executive accused the company of covering up multiple foreign-government data breaches over the past decade, raising potential reputational and legal risks. Former cyber executive turned whistleblower accuses IBM of covering up several data breaches
• Negative Sentiment: Another report repeated allegations that IBM and AT&T concealed foreign hacks, which could weigh on investor sentiment if the claims gain traction.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on IBM. Weiss Ratings downgraded International Business Machines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group upgraded International Business Machines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $236.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on International Business Machines from $380.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $304.17.

International Business Machines Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE IBM opened at $285.06 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $267.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.67. International Business Machines Corporation has a one year low of $212.34 and a one year high of $332.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $246.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.76.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. International Business Machines's payout ratio is currently 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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