International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $314.60.

Several research firms recently issued reports on IBM. Argus set a $360.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their target price on International Business Machines from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on International Business Machines from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on International Business Machines from $350.00 to $290.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday.

More International Business Machines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM closed its acquisition of Confluent, adding real‑time data streaming to feed AI models and automation across hybrid environments — a strategic move that strengthens IBM’s AI story and long‑term enterprise positioning. IBM Confluent Deal Puts Real Time Data At Core Of AI Story
• Positive Sentiment: IBM Consulting announced a collaboration with The Hackett Group to accelerate enterprise AI adoption by mapping AI use cases to workflows — an execution‑oriented partnership that could help convert product capability into client revenues. IBM Business Operations and The Hackett Group Collaborate
• Positive Sentiment: Media and analyst attention (including endorsements from figures like Jim Cramer) is highlighting IBM’s fundamentals and enterprise AI/quantum positioning, supporting investor interest in the stock’s longer‑term thesis. Jim Cramer Advises to Step In Due to Fundamentals
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term recognition of IBM research continued as IBM Fellow Charles H. Bennett received the A.M. Turing Award — positive for reputation but limited near‑term financial impact. Charles H. Bennett Receives A.M. Turing Award
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent valuation analyses show mixed momentum: 1‑month and 3‑month returns have lagged despite multi‑year strength, so some investors view the pullback as either a buying opportunity or a sign to wait for clearer earnings execution. A Look At IBM Valuation As Recent Returns Show Mixed Momentum
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts trimmed targets after the Confluent deal: JPMorgan cut its target to $283 (neutral rating) citing balanced risk/reward, and BMO lowered its target to $290 with a market‑perform view — both reduce near‑term upside expectations. JPMorgan Lowers IBM Target after Confluent Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity: traders bought roughly 88,456 put contracts (about a 115% jump vs. average), signaling elevated downside hedging or speculative bearish bets that can amplify intraday selling pressure.

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of IBM stock opened at $250.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. International Business Machines has a 1 year low of $214.50 and a 1 year high of $324.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $273.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its 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. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 15.69%.The business had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David N. Farr purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814,432. This trade represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Miebach acquired 434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.33 per share, for a total transaction of $101,265.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,265.22. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,484 shares of company stock valued at $417,157 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $852,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 114,395 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,278,000 after purchasing an additional 38,973 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in International Business Machines by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 12,537 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,537,000 after purchasing an additional 2,603 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 347,155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,953,000 after purchasing an additional 12,623 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.