Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 108,601 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 35% compared to the average daily volume of 80,721 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,216,131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,796,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,824 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in International Business Machines by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,996,293 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,290,452,000 after purchasing an additional 518,321 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,605,083 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,679,105,000 after purchasing an additional 336,069 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,021,912 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,523,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,976,756 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,063,653 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,893,669,000 after buying an additional 1,049,602 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

NYSE IBM opened at $214.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $201.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.79. International Business Machines has a 52-week low of $199.19 and a 52-week high of $332.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $262.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.50.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.52% and a return on equity of 35.65%. The firm had revenue of $17.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that International Business Machines will post 12.15 EPS for the current year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is 59.98%.

Key Headlines Impacting International Business Machines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed strong bullish interest, with traders buying 108,601 call options on IBM, about 35% above normal call volume. This suggests some investors are betting on a rebound.
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its price target to $245 from $255 but kept a Buy rating, implying meaningful upside from current levels and signaling that some analysts still see value in the shares.
• Positive Sentiment: IBM announced a dividend of $1.69 per share, reinforcing its appeal to income-focused investors at a time when the stock has been under pressure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary has turned split: some analysts and strategists view the post-earnings decline as a potential long-term opportunity, while others say IBM may be stuck in a holding pattern until growth reaccelerates. IBM: The Historic Stock Rout Is A Generational Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: IBM is still getting support from its long-term quantum computing strategy, including the announced acquisition of HRL Laboratories, which expands its quantum R&D capabilities. That could help sentiment, but the benefit is longer term rather than immediate.
• Negative Sentiment: The main reason the stock fell sharply is IBM’s Q2 report and lowered 2026 outlook: revenue missed expectations, mainframe sales weakened, and management cut full-year constant-currency revenue growth guidance after customers shifted spending toward AI infrastructure.
• Negative Sentiment: Shortly after the earnings slump, law firms announced securities-fraud investigations tied to IBM’s disclosures about the mainframe slowdown, adding legal overhang and uncertainty for shareholders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird started coverage on International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer cut International Business Machines from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on International Business Machines from $293.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.40.

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.