First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 8,658 Shares of International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,151 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,658 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $6,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at about $21,586,659,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 2.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,045,055 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,760,430,000 after buying an additional 1,450,562 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,214,868,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,606,782,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,621,512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,143,245,000 after buying an additional 53,388 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Business Machines Price Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $230.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.79. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52-week low of $199.19 and a 52-week high of $332.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.77. The stock has a market cap of $217.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.73.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.93. The company had revenue of $17.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.46 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.52% and a return on equity of 35.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is 59.98%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In other news, SVP Robert Thomas sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total transaction of $5,758,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 47,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,009,296. This represents a 34.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key International Business Machines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “outperform” rating and set a $270 price target, implying substantial upside from recent levels. RBC rating update
• Positive Sentiment: IBM advanced to Stage C of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, increasing visibility for its quantum-computing efforts. The Pentagon’s broader quantum push could create longer-term commercial and government opportunities, although the revenue impact is not yet clear. DARPA quantum computing initiative
• Positive Sentiment: New cyber-resilience support for IBM Power users reinforces the company’s positioning in enterprise security and mission-critical infrastructure, potentially supporting demand for its software and services. IBM cyber resilience support
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM is expected to release quarterly results Wednesday. The report will be closely watched for evidence that modest revenue growth is accelerating and for updates on artificial intelligence, cloud, consulting and quantum-computing demand. IBM quarterly earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist Securities initiated coverage with a “hold” rating, tempering the more bullish RBC view and signaling that valuation or execution risks remain. Truist IBM coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Comparisons with Arista Networks emphasize IBM’s higher leverage, while commentary contrasting IBM with Cisco suggests the stock has fallen out of favor with parts of Wall Street. These concerns could limit upside if earnings do not provide a stronger growth outlook.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IBM. Citic Securities upped their price target on International Business Machines from $294.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of International Business Machines to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.96.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM), commonly known as IBM, is a global technology company that provides hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence, software, consulting and infrastructure solutions. Its offerings help businesses and government organizations manage data, modernize applications, automate processes and improve cybersecurity.

IBM’s portfolio includes the Red Hat hybrid cloud platform, the watsonx suite of artificial intelligence and data tools, consulting services, and enterprise software for areas such as automation, application management, security and asset management.