Brokerages Set International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) PT at $314.60

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $314.60.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on IBM shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Oppenheimer set a $380.00 target price on International Business Machines and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on International Business Machines from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the third quarter worth $852,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $32,278,000 after acquiring an additional 38,973 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust increased its position in International Business Machines by 26.2% during the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 12,537 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,537,000 after acquiring an additional 2,603 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in International Business Machines by 3.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 347,155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $97,953,000 after acquiring an additional 12,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:IBM opened at $246.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $230.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.73. International Business Machines has a twelve month low of $214.50 and a twelve month high of $324.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $271.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.33 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $19.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that International Business Machines will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Completed Confluent acquisition bolsters IBM’s AI and hybrid-cloud stack by adding real-time data streaming to feed AI models and automation—supports longer-term revenue synergies and positioning in enterprise AI. IBM Confluent Deal Puts Real Time Data At Core Of AI Story
• Positive Sentiment: Retail and TV-commentator attention has boosted short-term interest; previous endorsements (e.g., Jim Cramer mentions) continue to draw flows and chatter. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Shares Higher After Jim Cramer Advised In August To Step In Due To Fundamentals
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes IBM as a trending/search interest stock — increased attention can amplify moves but does not by itself change fundamentals. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target after the Confluent deal (from $317 to $283) and kept a Neutral rating—signal that some analysts see limited near-term upside or acquisition integration risk. JPMorgan Lowers IBM Target after Confluent Deal, Sees Balanced Risk/Reward
• Negative Sentiment: BMO cut its target from $350 to $290 (now Market Perform), and other outlets report analyst downgrades and pessimistic forecasts—these re-ratings increase selling pressure and reduce near-term upside expectations. BMO Lowers IBM Target
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large options activity: traders bought a surge of put contracts (reported 88,456 puts), signaling significant hedging or bearish speculative bets that can amplify downside volatility. (Options flow reported 3/19)
• Negative Sentiment: Several recent articles highlight mixed/declining short-term momentum and Wall Street reassessment amid diverging analyst views—reinforces the narrative of uncertainty around near-term growth and valuation. Wall Street Reassesses IBM’s Trajectory Amid Diverging Analyst Views

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.