International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Should You Buy?

Posted by Stanley Muller on Aug 20th, 2026

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM – Get Free Report)’s share price was up 1.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $234.45 and last traded at $232.7370. Approximately 3,905,131 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 8,064,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.85.

Key Headlines Impacting International Business Machines

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

Positive Sentiment: IBM successfully connected and cooled two modular cryogenic systems to below 15 millikelvin—more than 180 times colder than deep space. The architecture is intended to link hundreds of quantum chips and represents progress toward the company’s planned fault-tolerant Quantum Starling system in 2029. IBM Connects Its First Modular Cryogenic Systems in Milestone Toward Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing
Positive Sentiment: The breakthrough supports IBM’s roadmap toward a 1,000-qubit system by 2027 and Quantum Starling in 2029. Investors viewed the development as evidence that IBM is making tangible engineering progress in a potentially valuable emerging-computing market, helping the stock increase. IBM Clears Major Hardware Hurdle on the Path to Its Quantum Supercomputer
Positive Sentiment: Research commissioned by Cohesive found that IBM Maximo customers demonstrate higher maintenance maturity than industry peers, offering supportive evidence for the company’s enterprise asset-management software business. New Verdantix Research Finds IBM Maximo Users Demonstrate Higher Maintenance Maturity Than Industry Peers

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $360.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on International Business Machines from $290.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of International Business Machines to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $291.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.40.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on International Business Machines

International Business Machines Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $223.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $248.73 and a 200-day moving average of $251.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.79.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.93. The company had revenue of $17.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.46 billion. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 35.65% and a net margin of 15.52%.The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. International Business Machines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. increased its position in International Business Machines by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $798,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,874 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC now owns 975 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Friday Financial grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.9% during the second quarter. Friday Financial now owns 1,903 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in International Business Machines by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,459 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About International Business Machines

(Get Free Report)

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.