International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Trading Down 8% on Analyst Downgrade

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s share price fell 8% on Thursday after Wedbush lowered their price target on the stock from $340.00 to $320.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. International Business Machines traded as low as $221.73 and last traded at $231.8080. 22,241,238 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 274% from the average session volume of 5,940,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $251.86.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. DZ Bank raised International Business Machines to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on International Business Machines from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Dbs Bank raised International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Miebach bought 434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $233.33 per share, for a total transaction of $101,265.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,265.22. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David N. Farr bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814,432. This represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 1,484 shares of company stock valued at $417,157. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on top and bottom lines — IBM delivered $15.92B in revenue (up ~9.5% YoY) and $1.91 non-GAAP EPS, topping Street estimates and showing margin expansion. IBM tops quarterly estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Growth drivers: double-digit strength in parts of software and infrastructure, Red Hat revenue acceleration and strong Z mainframe hardware demand — evidence AI/hybrid-cloud adoption is lifting some IBM businesses. IBM Q1 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder-friendly move: IBM raised its quarterly dividend (31st consecutive annual increase), which supports income-focused investors. Dividend raise coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Company maintained full-year guidance despite the beat — management cited geopolitical uncertainty (Iran) and macro risks as reasons to stay cautious; that leaves future upside unclear. CEO comments on guidance
• Negative Sentiment: AI anxiety and sector contagion — ServiceNow and IBM outlooks reignited fears that AI could disrupt traditional subscription software models, triggering broad SaaS selling. IBM’s beat wasn’t enough to calm those concerns. Software stocks plunge on results
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance and growth worries pressured the stock — investors focused on slowing revenue momentum in consulting/software and an unchanged outlook, prompting large after-hours selling and analyst re-ratings. Benzinga on AI anxiety
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy selling and index drag — the post-earnings sell-off was large enough to weigh on the Dow and widen intraday volatility; that amplifies downside risk near-term. Why stock is dropping

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 10.6% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at $211,000. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 38,617 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,383,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 11.6% in the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 1,017 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Down 8.0%

The company has a market cap of $217.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $247.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its 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. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The business had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 60.27%.

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.