Profitable new market for IBM

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $204 (New York symbol IBM, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $244.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ibm.com) continues to expand its analytics operations, which make software that helps businesses and governments quickly gather and analyze a wide range of data. The company recently paid an undisclosed sum for Toronto-based Varicent Software Inc. Over 180 banks, insurance companies and retailers use Varicent’s products to manage employee salaries and bonuses paid to salespeople. IBM is our #1 buy for 2012. 2012…