International Business Machines Corporation $IBM Stake Lowered by XML Financial LLC

Key Points

• XML Financial LLC reduced its IBM stake by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,131 shares and leaving it with 29,506 shares worth about $8.74 million.
• IBM continues to attract mixed but generally positive analyst attention, with Citigroup raising its target to $375 and Wedbush and Barclays also setting bullish targets amid optimism over AI momentum and enterprise demand.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results and raised its dividend to $1.69 per share, while news flow highlighted potential growth drivers such as its partnership with Google Cloud and long-term quantum computing investments.

XML Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,506 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,131 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $8,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 211,040 shares in 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. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in International Business Machines by 3.3% in the third 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. lifted its position in International Business Machines by 30.0% in the fourth 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 lifted its position in International Business Machines by 51.7% in the third 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 institutional investors.

International Business Machines News Roundup

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on IBM. Citigroup upped their target price on International Business Machines from $285.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush set a $350.00 target price on International Business Machines in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer cut 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. Barclays began coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $304.17.

International Business Machines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $285.06 on Friday. International Business Machines Corporation has a one year low of $212.34 and a one year high of $332.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $246.48 and a 200-day moving average of $270.94. The company has a market capitalization of $267.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.80.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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 anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $1.69 per share. This is a boost from International Business Machines's previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.