Townsquare Capital LLC Decreases Stock Position in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Townsquare Capital LLC lowered its stake in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 49.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,087 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,068 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $2,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 424.6% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 260,740 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $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 4th quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 18,288 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,930 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 993,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $280,439,000 after acquiring an additional 32,072 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $3,887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 51.7% in the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 114,395 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,278,000 after purchasing an additional 38,973 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $272.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $256.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.49. International Business Machines Corporation has a one year low of $212.34 and a one year high of $332.46. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 37.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 59.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IBM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group raised shares of International Business Machines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $290.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush set a $350.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.17.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer publicly favored IBM over Xanadu Quantum, saying investors should “buy IBM” if they want exposure to the quantum theme, which can reinforce confidence in IBM as a more credible and profitable long-term AI/quantum name. Jim Cramer Recommends IBM Over Xanadu Quantum
• Positive Sentiment: IBM announced an expanded global collaboration with JA Worldwide to deliver AI and digital-skills education to up to one million high-school students, highlighting IBM’s efforts to build ecosystem adoption and strengthen its brand in AI. JA Worldwide and IBM Expand Global Collaboration with Goal of Delivering AI and Digital Skills to Up to One Million High-School Students
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles framed IBM as a strong long-term beneficiary of the quantum-computing boom, including coverage that described IBM as a “safer play” alongside Alphabet in the sector and another piece calling IBM a long-term buy tied to its recurring-revenue software and infrastructure engine. Quantum Computing Looks Like Nvidia in 2019. This Could Be the Generational Buy of the Decade.
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM CEO Arvind Krishna’s recent comments on quantum advantage, AI usage, and the company’s profit strategy keep IBM in the AI/quantum conversation, but the remarks were more strategic than immediately financial. IBM CEO Krishna on Quantum Advantage, Profit Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: One analyst-style article argued that Celestica may be a better AI infrastructure buy than IBM due to faster growth and a cheaper valuation, which is a reminder that IBM still faces competition for investor capital in AI hardware/infrastructure. Celestica vs. IBM: Which AI Infrastructure Stock is the Better Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent 247WallSt commentary said IBM has already rallied enough that some investors may prefer to wait for a pullback, and it also noted the stock is not cheap after IBM’s large quantum investment announcement. IBM Just Placed a $10 Billion Bet to Become the Nvidia of Quantum Computing

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.