Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in International Business Machines Corporation $IBM

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,065,505 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,366 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of International Business Machines worth $258,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,216,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,796,390,000 after buying an additional 1,439,824 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 518,321 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,605,083 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,679,105,000 after acquiring an additional 336,069 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,021,912 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,523,720,000 after acquiring an additional 4,976,756 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $2,446,429,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of IBM opened at $216.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $264.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.20. International Business Machines Corporation has a 1 year low of $212.34 and a 1 year high of $332.46.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.60 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 37.23%. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.45 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. This is an increase from International Business Machines’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.68. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

International Business Machines News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: IBM reported preliminary Q2 revenue of about $17.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.93, both below estimates, raising concerns about near-term growth and execution. Reuters: IBM expects second-quarter revenue below estimates
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Arvind Krishna said the company “faltered,” citing delayed deal closures and customers shifting budgets toward AI infrastructure and memory chips, which hurt software and infrastructure sales. CNBC: IBM warns second-quarter earnings fell short of expectations
• Negative Sentiment: The warning is dragging other software and IT services names lower, reinforcing fears that enterprise spending is moving away from traditional software vendors and toward AI hardware/cybersecurity. Investor’s Business Daily: Stock Market Jumps As Inflation Eases; IBM Warns

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $285.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised International Business Machines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut International Business Machines from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Business Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.17.

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.