Milestone Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Milestone Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,240 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,029 shares during the quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $3,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 12.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter worth approximately $211,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush set a $350.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $293.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird started coverage on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on International Business Machines from $288.00 to $262.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.40.

International Business Machines News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s strategic partnership with OpenAI will embed OpenAI models and tools, including GPT-5.6, into IBM Consulting’s enterprise AI platform. IBM also plans to establish a dedicated OpenAI Practice and train thousands of consultants and engineers, potentially strengthening its position in regulated industries such as finance, government, telecommunications and retail. IBM partners with OpenAI to bolster enterprise AI push
• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s $240 million, multi-year agreement with Together AI will build an NVIDIA-powered AI inference cluster on IBM Cloud. Strong anticipated demand could support growth in IBM’s cloud infrastructure and high-performance AI workloads. Can IBM’s Together AI Cloud Deal Boost Its Growth Prospects?
• Positive Sentiment: IBM-reported research indicates that 85% of organizations planned to increase security spending by May, up from 64% during the prior period, as companies respond to frontier-AI cyber threats. This could benefit IBM’s cybersecurity, consulting and AI automation businesses. Frontier AI Threats Drive Companies to Boost Security Budgets
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage characterizes IBM as a relatively attractive technology investment because of its steadier earnings outlook, valuation and dividend, while other commentary highlights longer-term opportunities in quantum computing. These factors may provide support but are unlikely to resolve near-term growth concerns. AST SpaceMobile vs. IBM: Which Tech Stock is the Better Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: IBM’s shares have declined even after the OpenAI announcement, suggesting investors want evidence that the alliance can accelerate sales and profits. The partnership’s costs, implementation timeline and ability to convert consulting demand into recurring revenue remain key uncertainties. IBM Stock Drops Despite Major OpenAI Partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announced an investigation into potential securities fraud following IBM’s significant stock decline. The announcement is primarily an attorney solicitation and does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds headline and litigation risk. IBM securities fraud investigation reminder

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of IBM opened at $234.79 on Friday. International Business Machines Corporation has a 12 month low of $199.19 and a 12 month high of $332.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $251.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $221.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93. The business had revenue of $17.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.46 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 35.65% and a net margin of 15.52%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.98%.

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.