Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Stake in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) by 8.2%, purchasing an additional 1,188 shares in the first quarter.
• IBM's stock has received several analyst upgrades, including a new "strong-buy" rating from Melius Research and an increased price target from Goldman Sachs, raising it from $270 to $310.
• The company's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $2.80 EPS against a consensus estimate of $2.65, with a revenue increase of 7.7% year-over-year.

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,649 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the first quarter worth approximately $396,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in International Business Machines by 32.7% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,622 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Edgar Lomax Co. VA grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Edgar Lomax Co. VA now owns 235,967 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $58,676,000 after buying an additional 12,690 shares during the last quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1,547.8% in the 1st quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,664 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,392,000 after buying an additional 16,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 7,507 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,867,000 after buying an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of International Business Machines stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $257.01. 3,574,367 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,757,728. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $203.51 and a 1 year high of $296.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $258.35 and a 200-day moving average of $256.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.71.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.62% and a net margin of 9.11%.The business had revenue of $16.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. International Business Machines has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $1.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 109.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on IBM shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $244.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on International Business Machines from $320.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $270.67.

International Business Machines Profile

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate.