Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys Shares of 6,316 International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,316 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,782,000. International Business Machines comprises 0.9% of Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in International Business Machines by 0.4% during the third 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 during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% in the third quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.3% during the 3rd 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. MA Private Wealth boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. MA Private Wealth now owns 2,242 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.8% in the third quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 4,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at International Business Machines

In related news, Director Michael Miebach purchased 434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $233.33 per share, for a total transaction of $101,265.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,265.22. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David N. Farr acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $304.00 per share, with a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,258 shares in the company, valued at $2,814,432. This trade represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 1,484 shares of company stock valued at $417,157 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:IBM opened at $242.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $227.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.69. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52-week low of $214.50 and a 52-week high of $324.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $288.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.56. 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.33 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $19.69 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $1.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is currently 60.27%.

Key International Business Machines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded IBM from “Sell” to “Neutral,” helping spark buyer interest and supporting a short-term rebound. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: IBM won a Department of War contract (ceiling ~$112M) to modernize electronic shelf labels, a concrete services win that supports revenue visibility in its consulting/systems business. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company directors made small open-market purchases (including Michael Miebach and Michelle Howard), a signal of insider confidence that can bolster investor sentiment after volatility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst notes and deep-dive pieces argue the recent selloff was overdone given strong Q4 results, record free cash flow and strategic AI/cloud assets — supporting a recovery narrative. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target to $247 and set an “equal weight” rating, which moderates expectations and keeps upside capped near current levels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM published its 2026 X‑Force Threat Intelligence Index (ransomware surge and AI-accelerated attacks), which underlines both growing cybersecurity demand (opportunity) and rising threat landscape (risk). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The principal near-term downside remains AI-startup disruption fears after Anthropic’s Claude Code claim (automation of COBOL modernization) triggered a sharp selloff; the market is still weighing how quickly enterprise modernization demand could change. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on IBM shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on International Business Machines from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.87.

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.