First Bancorp Inc ME Boosts Stake in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

First Bancorp Inc ME lifted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,032 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $1,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IBM. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,144 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Whelan Financial grew its stake in International Business Machines by 2.4% in the second quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 1,525 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.9% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 3,964 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC lifted its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.6% in the first quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 6,776 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.3% during the second quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE IBM opened at $280.95 on Friday. International Business Machines Corporation has a twelve month low of $203.51 and a twelve month high of $301.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $261.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.61, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $261.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.73.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 37.62%. The company had revenue of $16.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. International Business Machines has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities 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 was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IBM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on International Business Machines from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on International Business Machines from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded International Business Machines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.38.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate.