Northstar Financial Companies Inc. Invests $721,000 in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. bought a new position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,566 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gould Asset Management LLC CA purchased a new stake in shares of International Business Machines during the second quarter valued at $485,000. Arrowroot Family Office LLC purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 2nd quarter worth about $556,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth about $15,237,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,891,000. Finally, 1ST Source Bank purchased a new stake in International Business Machines during the second quarter valued at about $7,402,000. 58.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of International Business Machines to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $291.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $320.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.90.

Key International Business Machines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s acquisition of HRL Laboratories adds silicon-spin qubit, materials and manufacturing expertise that could improve its ability to develop scalable quantum-computing systems. Analysts cited upcoming quantum catalysts, and Susquehanna raised its price target to $235, although it maintained a cautious view. Can IBM’s HRL Acquisition Boost Its Quantum Computing Capabilities?
• Positive Sentiment: A technical analysis article said IBM remains in a longer-term uptrend and could resume advancing if shares clear resistance near $239. A breakout would signal improved buying momentum, though this is a technical rather than fundamental catalyst. Stock of the Day: Will IBM Break Out and Head Higher?
• Neutral Sentiment: New market reports identify IBM as a participant in expanding enterprise blockchain, UNIX, business service management, computer-based sensing, biological computing and high-throughput computing markets. These reports point to broad industry growth but provide limited evidence of immediate revenue or earnings impact for IBM. IBM Emerges as a Leading Enterprise Blockchain Provider
• Negative Sentiment: IBM’s reported year-to-date decline reflects concerns about AI-driven disruption to legacy services, pricing pressure and downward earnings estimates. Hybrid cloud and watsonx remain potential offsets, but investors are questioning whether growth in those businesses can compensate for weakness elsewhere. IBM Slumps 21% YTD: Time to Reassess the Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage also highlighted IBM’s revenue miss, which contributed to a sharp selloff, and noted that the stock has underperformed the S&P 500. A pending securities-fraud investigation and a senior executive’s multimillion-dollar stock sale add further overhang, although neither necessarily changes IBM’s underlying business outlook. IBM Securities Fraud Investigation

International Business Machines Price Performance

IBM opened at $231.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $243.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $199.19 and a 1 year high of $332.46. The stock has a market cap of $217.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.70.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.93. The company had revenue of $17.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.46 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 35.65% and a net margin of 15.52%.The business’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. Analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total transaction of $5,758,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 47,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,009,296. This trade represents a 34.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% 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.