International Business Machines Corporation $IBM Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,065,505 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,366 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $258,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in International Business Machines by 424.6% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 260,740 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,234,000 after acquiring an additional 211,040 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 18,288 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,930 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,122 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,317,000. Finally, Sage Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,101,000. 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:

• Negative Sentiment: IBM reported preliminary Q2 revenue of about $17.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.93, both below estimates, raising concerns about near-term growth and execution. Reuters: IBM expects second-quarter revenue below estimates
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Arvind Krishna said the company “faltered,” citing delayed deal closures and customers shifting budgets toward AI infrastructure and memory chips, which hurt software and infrastructure sales. CNBC: IBM warns second-quarter earnings fell short of expectations
• Negative Sentiment: The warning is dragging other software and IT services names lower, reinforcing fears that enterprise spending is moving away from traditional software vendors and toward AI hardware/cybersecurity. Investor’s Business Daily: Stock Market Jumps As Inflation Eases; IBM Warns

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on International Business Machines from $267.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on International Business Machines from $285.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 price objective on International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.17.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $216.59 on Wednesday. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $212.34 and a 1 year high of $332.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.20. The company has a market capitalization of $203.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.80.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 37.23%. International Business Machines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $1.69 dividend. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.77%.

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.