Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Key Points

• Stokes Capital Advisors LLC raised its Q4 stake in IBM by 12.9% to 20,839 shares (about $6.17 million), and other funds also added positions, leaving institutional ownership near 58.96%.
• IBM beat expectations for the quarter with $4.52 EPS vs. $4.33 consensus and revenue of $19.69 billion, up 12.2% year‑over‑year.
• Brokerage coverage is collectively a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $314.60, and company insiders (including Michael Miebach and David N. Farr) have recently purchased shares—1,484 insider shares bought in the last 90 days.

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,839 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,375 shares during the quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $6,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 10.6% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp increased its stake in International Business Machines by 1.5% in the second quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 16,251 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,790,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Richmond Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at about $351,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 22.2% during the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 3,314 shares of the technology company's stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IBM. Argus set a $360.00 price target on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. DZ Bank raised International Business Machines to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, Director Michael Miebach bought 434 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.33 per share, with a total value of $101,265.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 434 shares in the company, valued at $101,265.22. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David N. Farr purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $304.00 per share, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,814,432. This trade represents a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 1,484 shares of company stock worth $417,157 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM led an open-source push for AI infrastructure by contributing the llm-d project to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation — a move that can deepen IBM’s footprint in enterprise AI stacks, attract contributors/partners, and reduce friction for customers adopting watsonx and related tools. IBM Pushes Open-Source AI Infrastructure with New llm-d Project
• Positive Sentiment: IBM expanded watsonx Orchestrate’s capabilities by partnering with ElevenLabs to add premium TTS/STT — enhances agentic AI use-cases for enterprises (multilingual voice, richer UX), strengthening product differentiation. Enterprise AI Finds its Voice: ElevenLabs and IBM Bring Premium Voice Capabilities to Agentic AI
• Positive Sentiment: BofA reiterated a Buy and $340 price target based on IBM’s agentic AI expansion — analyst backing can support investor confidence and buying interest in the near term. BofA Reaffirms Buy on IBM Stock Amid Agentic AI Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Arvind Krishna said the regulatory environment is friendlier for M&A — implies IBM can more quickly execute strategic tuck-ins to accelerate AI/cloud capabilities and revenue growth. IBM CEO: Regulatory environment much friendlier for M&A deals now
• Positive Sentiment: Cloudera named IBM among its 2026 Global Partner Award winners — another signal of channel strength and ecosystem validation for IBM’s data/AI offerings. Cloudera Announces 2026 Global Partner Awards Winners at IMPACT26
• Positive Sentiment: High-visibility deployments — IBM’s watsonx features at the Masters (Vault Search, Hole Insights) showcase its Granite SLMs and agentic tools to large audiences, useful for marketing and customer proof points. Masters AI Experience Launch Could Be A Game Changer For International Business Machines (IBM)
• Positive Sentiment: Consensus brokerage coverage sits around a "Moderate Buy," supporting broader analyst sentiment that IBM’s AI strategy can drive earnings — a tailwind for investor sentiment. International Business Machines Corporation NYSE: IBM Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s note on Kyndryl highlights evolving partner dynamics with IBM — worth watching for service/partner revenue implications but not a direct near-term hit to IBM’s core AI story. Kyndryl: Limited Near-Term Upside Amid Uncertain Growth Outlook and Evolving IBM Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage lists IBM among leading integration/iPaaS solutions — supportive for long-term positioning but not a catalyst by itself. Top Integration Tools in 2026: iPaaS, MuleSoft & IBM Solutions
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech selling is exerting pressure on IBM and peers (Dow saw tech weakness), and IBM remains below its 50- and 200-day moving averages — technical/residual market risk could cap near-term upside. Dow Wavers. It's Getting Hit by Tech Now, Too.

International Business Machines Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of International Business Machines stock opened at $241.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $226.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.73. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52-week low of $214.50 and a 52-week high of $324.90. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $267.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.19. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The firm had revenue of $19.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $1.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 60.27%.

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.

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