SouthState Bank Corp Increases Position in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

SouthState Bank Corp boosted its holdings in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,304 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,690 shares during the period. SouthState Bank Corp’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $10,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 913 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in International Business Machines by 479.6% in the third quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 4,214 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,487 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at $1,567,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 62,238 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,561,000 after acquiring an additional 2,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 52,177 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer set a $380.00 target price on International Business Machines and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus set a $360.00 price target on International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded International Business Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $317.00 target price on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.07.

International Business Machines Stock Down 1.8%

International Business Machines stock opened at $288.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.96. International Business Machines Corporation has a one year low of $214.50 and a one year high of $324.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.69.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last posted its earnings results 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. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 38.15%. The firm had revenue of $19.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous 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 expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be given a $1.68 dividend. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Business Machines news, Director David N. Farr purchased 1,000 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $304.00 per share, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.