Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 14,722,645 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the previous session’s volume of 17,337,471 shares.The stock last traded at $4.93 and had previously closed at $4.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ERIC. Barclays cut Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. TheStreet upgraded Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from $5.81 to $5.58 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group cut Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.58.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.04 billion. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a positive return on equity of 11.89% and a negative net margin of 9.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were given a dividend of $0.1293 per share. This is a positive change from Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)’s previous dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)’s payout ratio is -24.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 258.1% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,744 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 7,744 shares during the period. Finally, 626 Financial LLC acquired a new position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.99% of the company’s stock.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Company Profile

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile connectivity solutions for telcom operators and enterprise customers in various sectors in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, North East Asia, South East Asia, Oceania, and India. It operates in four segments: Networks; Cloud Software and Services; Enterprise; and Other.