IBM transforms again

Article Excerpt

IBM’s shares fell from $190 in October 2014 to $150 in December. That’s because many businesses are shifting to cheaper cloud computing platforms and spending less on IBM’s mainframes and consulting services. That has forced it to abandon its ambitious 2015 earnings target of $20.00 a share. But the company has a long history of shifting from unprofitable businesses to fast-growing ones. And we feel its new plan to focus on cloud computing and analytics software will spur its earnings for years to come. To top it off, IBM’s strong balance sheet gives it lots of room to keep buying back shares and raising its dividend. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $165 (New York symbol IBM, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 985.0 million; Market cap: $162.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ibm.com) traces its history back to 1911. Today, it’s one of the world’s largest computer companies, with operations in over…