IBM stock gains after institutional buyers buy and sell; analysts raise forecasts after positive earnings and higher quarterly dividend.

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC has trimmed the stake in International Business Machines (IBM) by 1.4 percent in the first quarter as recently reported in an SEC filing. However, despite the sale of 1,699 shares, IBM is still the seventh-largest position in the group having a value of around $30.7 million.

The shift is in the wake as the share of IBM rose 1.4 percent on Friday ending the week at 291.66. The technological giant has experienced robust institutional support as hedge funds and large investors own close to 59 percent of its shares.

Since then, IBM is still doing great in the markets as analysts recorded a quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share in April compared to the expectancy of $1.42. The quarterly revenue was 14.54 billion compared to the previous year, which yielded 0.5 percent growth. Furthermore, the firm increased its quarterly payout rate to 1.68 per share.

The sentiments of analysts are still positive. Goldman Sachs and Wedbush upgraded the price of IBM targeting them to reach 310 and 325, respectively, whereas Erste Group Bank upgraded the price of IBM to a strong buy.

IBM is a company that has a market capitalization of 271 billion and still has attracted attention by paying special attention to stability in earnings and returns on shareholders. The boost in dividends, coupled with the heavy institutional demand, has spoken volumes about the effectiveness of the company's long-term growth strategy.