International Business Machines Corporation $IBM Shares Sold by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. trimmed its holdings in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 62.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,065 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 70,303 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $12,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 13.9% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,045,156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,809,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,077,506 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,216,131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,796,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,824 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 39.6% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,052,880 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $861,401,000 after purchasing an additional 865,253 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 64.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,162,741 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $610,239,000 after purchasing an additional 849,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 17.9% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 4,777,516 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,382,695,000 after purchasing an additional 725,191 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Stock Up 12.5%

International Business Machines stock opened at $253.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.58. International Business Machines Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $212.34 and a fifty-two week high of $324.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $238.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.57.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.23% and a net margin of 15.61%.International Business Machines’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings cut International Business Machines from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on International Business Machines from $380.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Miebach bought 434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 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 available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM will receive $1 billion of U.S. funding to support a new quantum foundry and wafer manufacturing facility, strengthening its position in the emerging quantum-computing market. IBM and U.S. Department of Commerce Announce America’s First Purpose-Built Quantum Foundry, Supported by Proposed $1 Billion CHIPS Award
• Positive Sentiment: The Commerce Department letter of intent and CHIPS-backed investment signal government support for IBM’s quantum roadmap, improving confidence in future growth and commercialization. IBM and U.S. Department of Commerce Announce America’s First Purpose-Built Quantum Foundry
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and options activity suggest traders are betting on further upside as IBM becomes a leading “quantum play” tied to the broader AI boom. Traders think this legacy tech stock is the ultimate quantum play

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.