Investment Research Partners LLC Buys Shares of 6,790 International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Investment Research Partners LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,790 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,093,000. International Business Machines accounts for about 0.9% of Investment Research Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in International Business Machines by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,776,307 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,024,243,000 after buying an additional 724,832 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 0.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,536,963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,076,406,000 after acquiring an additional 147,721 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 13.9% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,045,156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,809,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,077,506 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,302,722 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,060,536,000 after acquiring an additional 176,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at $2,011,122,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on IBM. Erste Group Bank downgraded International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.60.

International Business Machines Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $250.03 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $273.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $284.48. The company has a market capitalization of $234.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $214.50 and a 1 year high of $324.90. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 15.69%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.27%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines

In related news, Director David N. Farr bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $304.00 per share, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,814,432. This represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Miebach bought 434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $233.33 per share, for a total transaction of $101,265.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,265.22. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 1,484 shares of company stock valued at $417,157 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM closed its acquisition of Confluent, adding real‑time data streaming to feed AI models and automation across hybrid environments — a strategic move that strengthens IBM’s AI story and long‑term enterprise positioning. IBM Confluent Deal Puts Real Time Data At Core Of AI Story
• Positive Sentiment: IBM Consulting announced a collaboration with The Hackett Group to accelerate enterprise AI adoption by mapping AI use cases to workflows — an execution‑oriented partnership that could help convert product capability into client revenues. IBM Business Operations and The Hackett Group Collaborate
• Positive Sentiment: Media and analyst attention (including endorsements from figures like Jim Cramer) is highlighting IBM’s fundamentals and enterprise AI/quantum positioning, supporting investor interest in the stock’s longer‑term thesis. Jim Cramer Advises to Step In Due to Fundamentals
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term recognition of IBM research continued as IBM Fellow Charles H. Bennett received the A.M. Turing Award — positive for reputation but limited near‑term financial impact. Charles H. Bennett Receives A.M. Turing Award
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent valuation analyses show mixed momentum: 1‑month and 3‑month returns have lagged despite multi‑year strength, so some investors view the pullback as either a buying opportunity or a sign to wait for clearer earnings execution. A Look At IBM Valuation As Recent Returns Show Mixed Momentum
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts trimmed targets after the Confluent deal: JPMorgan cut its target to $283 (neutral rating) citing balanced risk/reward, and BMO lowered its target to $290 with a market‑perform view — both reduce near‑term upside expectations. JPMorgan Lowers IBM Target after Confluent Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity: traders bought roughly 88,456 put contracts (about a 115% jump vs. average), signaling elevated downside hedging or speculative bearish bets that can amplify intraday selling pressure.

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.