Buffett back in money on IBM

International Business Machines has climbed above the price that Warren Buffett paid for shares in the computer company, reversing more than $2 billion in paper losses for his Berkshire Hathaway. 

IBM rose 2.2 per cent to $170.55 at 4 pm Friday in New York after giving 2017 profit guidance on Thursday that was higher than analysts’ estimates. That compares with the average of $170.19 that Buffett spent for 81 million shares, according to Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire’s most recent annual report.

IBM has outperformed so-called momentum tech stocks such as Amazon.com and Facebook after Donald Trump’s election win as investors shifted to companies with consistent dividends and buybacks, said Dan Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust.

“Buffett is a value guy, and is helped when the pendulum swings to the value side of the sector, as opposed to a momentum player,” said Morgan, adding that his firm has more than 300,000 IBM shares.