Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires 5,676 Shares of International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,915 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,676 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $5,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,359 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% during the third quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.3% during the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 10,774 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,040,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 3,964 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Key International Business Machines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and analyst lifts — IBM’s Q4 beat (software, hybrid cloud and watsonx AI driving revenue) prompted price-target upgrades from firms including Bernstein and Stifel, supporting a constructive fundamental story. Bernstein and Stifel Lift IBM Price Targets After Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate AI push — IBM launched a global RFP for AI-driven education and workforce solutions (Impact Accelerator), reinforcing its strategic AI/go-to-market initiatives that investors view as long-term growth drivers. IBM Opens Global RFP for AI-Driven Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish media and insider activity — Jim Cramer reiterated a favorable view on IBM as an AI winner with a reasonable P/E, and recent insider purchases were reported, both of which can boost investor confidence. Jim Cramer Says “IBM’s the Rare AI Winner With a Fairly Low Price-to-Earnings Multiple”
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and fund flows — Coverage pieces and ETF commentary note IBM’s recent share-strength and repositioning into tech/AI ETFs, but also raise mixed fair-value signals; these are longer-horizon considerations. Assessing IBM Valuation After Recent Share Price Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Merger paperwork around Confluent — Supplemental disclosures tied to the Confluent deal with an IBM subsidiary have surfaced amid shareholder suits; this creates legal/transactional noise but not an immediate earnings driver. Confluent Issues Supplemental Disclosures Amid Shareholder Lawsuits
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and technical pressure — IBM shares slipped after Anthropic announced new plugins that could encroach on IBM’s consulting and software revenue, and the stock broke below its 100-day moving average, triggering technical selling. As IBM Stock Breaks Below Its 100-Day Moving Average

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $288.93 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $270.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $302.56 and a 200-day moving average of $283.48. International Business Machines Corporation has a one year low of $214.50 and a one 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.33 by $0.19. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The business had revenue of $19.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. International Business Machines’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 60.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IBM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $312.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer set a $380.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on International Business Machines from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Business Machines

In other International Business Machines news, Director David N. Farr bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814,432. The trade was a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.