Optiver Holding B.V. Acquires New Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,883 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,660,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in International Business Machines by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth $202,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in International Business Machines by 21.7% in the second quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,425 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, James Investment Research Inc. bought a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at $219,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $237.75 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $289.56 and its 200 day moving average is $283.85. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52 week low of $214.50 and a 52 week high of $324.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $222.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.69.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.19. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The business had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 60.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts defend stock and upgrade stance — UBS moved IBM to Neutral from Sell, and other firms (Wedbush, Evercore/Jefferies) have called the recent drop overdone, framing the pullback as a buying opportunity. This reduced downside pressure and supported the rebound. IBM no longer a Sell, says UBS as analysts upgrade stock
• Positive Sentiment: New government contract — IBM won a DoW Defense Commissary Agency contract (ceiling $112M) to modernize electronic shelf labels, which is a tangible revenue/contract win in infrastructure and services. IBM Awarded Defense Commissary Agency Contract
• Positive Sentiment: Insider purchases — Two board directors disclosed open-market buys (Michael Miebach: 434 shares; Michelle J. Howard: 50 shares). Director buying often signals management/board confidence and can reassure investors. SEC filing — Miebach purchase SEC filing — Howard purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst price-target moves — Morgan Stanley cut its price target to $247 with an “equal weight” rating, reflecting more cautious near-term sentiment even as some firms raise targets. This creates mixed signals for investors. Morgan Stanley price target change
• Neutral Sentiment: Market narrative vs fundamentals — Several outlets argue the Feb. 23 selloff was an overreaction given IBM’s recent beat on Q4 results, strong free cash flow and product/AI positioning; but the debate keeps volatility elevated. IBM’s Steep Drop on AI Fears May Be an Overreaction
• Negative Sentiment: AI disruption fear remains a headline risk — Anthropic’s Claude Code announcement sparked a sharp 13% one-day decline by suggesting automation of COBOL modernization, which pressured IBM’s legacy mainframe/consulting revenue narrative and triggered sector contagion. That perceived threat still hangs over sentiment. IBM posts steepest daily drop after Anthropic Claude Code

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $361.00 target price on International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $304.00 to $247.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer set a $380.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Business Machines news, Director Michael Miebach acquired 434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $233.33 per share, for a total transaction of $101,265.22. Following the acquisition, the director owned 434 shares in the company, valued at $101,265.22. This represents a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David N. Farr acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,814,432. This trade represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 1,484 shares of company stock valued at $417,157 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

International Business Machines 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.