Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Stake in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 730,008 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 140,509 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in International Business Machines were worth $216,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in IBM. Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter worth $28,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1,666.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM rolled out two new IBM Cloud managed services, Red Hat AI Inference and OpenShift Virtualization, aimed at accelerating AI adoption and securing virtual workloads. The move highlights IBM’s effort to monetize enterprise AI demand and deepen its cloud platform stickiness. Can IBM’s Advanced AI and Virtualization Offerings Boost Its Shares?
• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s consulting unit is being repositioned around a new AI delivery model that uses small, senior teams to turn strategy into execution faster. That could support services revenue and improve IBM’s reputation as an enterprise AI implementation partner. A New Way to Make AI Actually Work in the Real World
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces argued that IBM’s broader AI and blockchain initiatives from its Think 2026 event could help the company build trust in enterprise AI, but these were mostly thematic analyses rather than new material business updates. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Using Blockchain to Build Trust In AI
• Negative Sentiment: A separate market note said IBM’s price target was lowered by $30, which suggests some analysts are becoming more cautious about the near-term outlook despite the company’s AI push. IBM Price Target Lowered by $30
• Negative Sentiment: Another article highlighted IBM among beaten-down stocks that are still well below recent highs, underscoring that sentiment has been weak and the shares remain under pressure from earlier declines. Catching Falling Knives: Is It Time to Buy These Beaten-Down Stocks?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on IBM shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on International Business Machines from $380.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.41.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $218.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $241.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.44. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $212.34 and a 1 year high of $324.90. The company has a market cap of $205.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.58.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.23% and a net margin of 15.61%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael Miebach purchased 434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,265.22. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

About International Business Machines

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.