Integrity Alliance LLC. Increases Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC boosted its IBM stake by 341.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 17,512 shares valued at about $5.19 million.
• IBM continues to attract institutional buying more broadly, with firms like Vanguard, Capital World Investors, and others also increasing their positions; institutions now own 58.96% of the stock.
• The company is getting a lift from quantum computing optimism and a new five-year technology modernization deal with Abertis, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $294.41.

Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 341.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,512 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,546 shares during the quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC.'s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $5,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $28,796,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,824 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $4,809,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,077,506 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,302,722 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,060,536,000 after purchasing an additional 176,219 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,777,516 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,382,695,000 after purchasing an additional 725,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,921,228 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,106,414,000 after purchasing an additional 86,123 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines

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

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.8%

IBM stock opened at $251.69 on Wednesday. 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 $236.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.58. International Business Machines Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $212.34 and a fifty-two week high of $324.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $238.94 and a 200-day moving average of $271.49.

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

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IBM shares. HSBC raised International Business Machines from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $218.00 to $231.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Argus set a $360.00 target price on International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, 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 note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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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