International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price was up 1.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $252.20 and last traded at $249.3320. Approximately 5,653,793 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 6,054,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.28.

Key International Business Machines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM completed its $11 billion acquisition of Confluent, adding enterprise real‑time data streaming to watsonx and other IBM platforms — management says this makes real‑time data the engine for enterprise AI and agents, with day‑one integrations announced. This materially strengthens IBM’s AI data stack and could boost long‑term revenue from AI workflows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: IBM expanded its partnership with NVIDIA to embed NVIDIA GPUs into IBM Cloud and Red Hat AI Factory, aiming to help customers move AI pilots into production across hybrid/on‑prem environments — a commercial ramp that supports enterprise AI adoption. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: IBM Consulting partnered with The Hackett Group to accelerate and prioritize enterprise AI use cases (Hackett AI XPLR), focused on aligning AI to real workflows and measurable ROI — another commercial channel to convert AI investments into billable consulting and software engagements. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: IBM research credibility gets a boost as IBM Fellow Charles H. Bennett was named a co‑recipient of the ACM A.M. Turing Award — a reputational positive that underpins IBM’s long‑term leadership in quantum and advanced research. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts remain bullish (e.g., Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and $340 target), highlighting divergent analyst views that can amplify short‑term volatility as the market weighs competing forecasts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target from $317 to $283 and moved to a “neutral” rating — an influential sell‑side cut that can pressure the stock and signal tempered near‑term expectations despite the M&A and partnerships. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and financing concerns: IBM shares sit below their 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages, trading volume is below average, and the large acquisition raises near‑term integration and funding questions (debt exposure) — factors that encourage profit‑taking and add downside risk until Confluent integration and deal economics are proven. (No single article)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on IBM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore upped their price target on International Business Machines from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.60.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 15.69%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 60.27%.

Insider Activity

In other International Business Machines news, Director David N. Farr purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $304.00 per share, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814,432. This represents a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael Miebach acquired 434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $233.33 per share, with a total value of $101,265.22. Following the purchase, the director owned 434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,265.22. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 1,484 shares of company stock valued at $417,157 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 10.6% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 436,623 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $128,708,000 after purchasing an additional 116,109 shares during the period. Nordwand Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 197.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nordwand Advisors LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 22,385 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

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.