International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Up 1.7% – Should You Buy?

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s stock price was up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $234.45 and last traded at $232.7370. 3,905,131 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 8,064,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.85.

Key International Business Machines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Maximo adoption and government demand: New Verdantix research commissioned by Cohesive found that IBM Maximo users show greater maintenance maturity than industry peers, supporting the value proposition for IBM’s asset-management software. Separately, IBM’s Maximo Government SaaS secured FedRAMP Moderate authorization, potentially improving its ability to win U.S. government customers. Verdantix IBM Maximo research IBM Maximo FedRAMP authorization
• Positive Sentiment: Software and AI catalysts: Recent coverage highlights software momentum, IBM’s positioning in the enterprise AI race and the rapid expansion of the agentic-AI market. These developments reinforce the growth case for IBM’s hybrid-cloud, automation and AI offerings, although the articles provide limited new financial estimates. IBM software and mainframe outlook IBM Nvidia AI race
• Positive Sentiment: Distribution expansion and investor support: Arrow Electronics expanded IBM distribution coverage to seven additional European countries. Quiver data also showed more institutional additions than reductions in the latest quarter, two reported insider purchases and a median analyst price target well above the current trading level. These signals may support sentiment but are not guarantees of future performance. Arrow IBM distribution expansion IBM institutional and insider activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: One analysis characterized IBM as attractive after its pullback, citing software strength, government contracts and the company’s established franchise. However, value investors are also comparing IBM with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, keeping attention on relative valuation and growth prospects. IBM strengths and valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Mainframe weakness and legal overhang: Coverage points to headwinds from a weak IBM Z mainframe quarter, partially offset by software tailwinds. A securities law firm has also announced an investigation into potential securities fraud related to the IBM Z slowdown and the stock’s decline, adding reputational and litigation risk. IBM securities investigation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered International Business Machines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. HSBC set a $175.00 target price on International Business Machines and gave the stock a “reduce” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $303.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of International Business Machines to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.40.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

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 cap of $219.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $250.33 and a 200-day moving average of $252.43.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. International Business Machines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis 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 59.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,216,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,796,390,000 after buying an additional 1,439,824 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $21,586,659,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in International Business Machines by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,996,293 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,290,452,000 after acquiring an additional 518,321 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,605,083 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,679,105,000 after purchasing an additional 336,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,021,912 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,523,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,976,756 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.