Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys New Stake in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 29,704 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,353,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IBM. Orca Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC now owns 975 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Friday Financial boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.9% in the second quarter. Friday Financial now owns 1,903 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in International Business Machines by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,459 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its stake in International Business Machines by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,712 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $291.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $288.00 to $262.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. HSBC set a $175.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines and gave the company a “reduce” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Key International Business Machines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s acquisition of HRL Laboratories adds silicon-spin qubit, materials and manufacturing expertise that could improve its ability to develop scalable quantum-computing systems. Analysts cited upcoming quantum catalysts, and Susquehanna raised its price target to $235, although it maintained a cautious view. Can IBM’s HRL Acquisition Boost Its Quantum Computing Capabilities?
• Positive Sentiment: A technical analysis article said IBM remains in a longer-term uptrend and could resume advancing if shares clear resistance near $239. A breakout would signal improved buying momentum, though this is a technical rather than fundamental catalyst. Stock of the Day: Will IBM Break Out and Head Higher?
• Neutral Sentiment: New market reports identify IBM as a participant in expanding enterprise blockchain, UNIX, business service management, computer-based sensing, biological computing and high-throughput computing markets. These reports point to broad industry growth but provide limited evidence of immediate revenue or earnings impact for IBM. IBM Emerges as a Leading Enterprise Blockchain Provider
• Negative Sentiment: IBM’s reported year-to-date decline reflects concerns about AI-driven disruption to legacy services, pricing pressure and downward earnings estimates. Hybrid cloud and watsonx remain potential offsets, but investors are questioning whether growth in those businesses can compensate for weakness elsewhere. IBM Slumps 21% YTD: Time to Reassess the Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage also highlighted IBM’s revenue miss, which contributed to a sharp selloff, and noted that the stock has underperformed the S&P 500. A pending securities-fraud investigation and a senior executive’s multimillion-dollar stock sale add further overhang, although neither necessarily changes IBM’s underlying business outlook. IBM Securities Fraud Investigation

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM stock opened at $231.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $217.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.61. International Business Machines Corporation has a twelve month low of $199.19 and a twelve month high of $332.46.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.52% and a return on equity of 35.65%. The business had revenue of $17.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.98%.

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.