International Business Machines Corporation $IBM Position Increased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 179.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 438,597 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 281,475 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $106,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 424.6% in the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 260,740 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $77,234,000 after purchasing an additional 211,040 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 valued at $5,417,000 after buying an additional 2,930 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 3,029 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,317,000. Finally, Sage Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,101,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM continues to get credit for growth in quantum computing and AI, including new enterprise software tools and multi-agent capabilities that could support future revenue. IBM Advances Enterprise AI Software Development with Multi-Agent Capabilities and Specialized Modernization Workflows
• Positive Sentiment: The stock still has implied upside to Susquehanna’s target, suggesting analysts see value if IBM can convert its AI and quantum strengths into stronger earnings growth. Susquehanna coverage note
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM’s latest product updates for its Bob platform and other AI tools reinforce its enterprise strategy, but these launches are not yet enough to change the near-term investment view. IBM Upgrades Bob With Multi-Agent AI
• Negative Sentiment: Starbucks’ move to build internal AI tools to replace Microsoft and IBM software highlights a potential risk to IBM’s enterprise software revenue if other large customers follow suit. There Are So Many Reasons to Like IBM Right Now—Just Not Enough to Buy the Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain cautious heading into IBM’s upcoming Q2 earnings, with concerns that AI could pressure parts of the consulting and mainframe business even as newer growth areas expand. Susquehanna Praises IBM’s Quantum and AI Growth but Rates the Stock a Hold – Here’s Why

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on IBM shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of International Business Machines from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $270.00 to $291.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded International Business Machines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $306.28.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded down $7.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $287.85. 3,633,419 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,627,529. The company has a market cap of $270.55 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $263.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.17. International Business Machines Corporation has a twelve month low of $212.34 and a twelve month high of $332.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.45 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 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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