Orange Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Orange Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,958 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,753 shares during the period. International Business Machines makes up about 1.0% of Orange Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Orange Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $9,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 1,666.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBM has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $317.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings cut International Business Machines from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on International Business Machines from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on International Business Machines from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.41.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM and the U.S. Commerce Department announced a plan to build America’s first purpose-built quantum foundry, with a proposed $1 billion CHIPS award supporting the effort. IBM and U.S. Department of Commerce Announce America’s First Purpose-Built Quantum Foundry, Supported by Proposed $1 Billion CHIPS Award
• Positive Sentiment: The federal government’s broader $2 billion quantum investment package, which includes IBM as a major recipient, is reinforcing investor enthusiasm around IBM’s quantum leadership and future upside. Traders think this legacy tech stock is the ultimate quantum play
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity spiked sharply, showing heavy trader interest in IBM as a quantum-related momentum play. Traders think this legacy tech stock is the ultimate quantum play
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM also continued to draw attention for its AI security initiatives and Red Hat-related partnerships, but those updates appear secondary to the quantum news driving the stock today. IBM Expands AI Security With Anthropic Partnership And Open Source Focus

International Business Machines Stock Up 12.5%

Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $253.14 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $238.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.57. The company has a market cap of $237.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. International Business Machines Corporation has a 12 month low of $212.34 and a 12 month high of $324.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.23% and a net margin of 15.61%.International Business Machines’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.4 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $1.69 dividend. This is a boost from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael Miebach purchased 434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $233.33 per share, with a total value of $101,265.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 434 shares in the company, valued at $101,265.22. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Company 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.