Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Ericsson hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $12.12 and last at $12.0850 on volume of about 8.93 million shares, with 50-day and 200-day moving averages at $11.40 and $10.22 respectively.
• Analysts are mixed: the MarketBeat consensus is Reduce with a $11.00 price target (1 Buy, 6 Hold, 2 Sell), while recent notes include Morgan Stanley's "equal weight" $11 target and Weiss Ratings reissuing a "buy."
• Ericsson recently paid a dividend of $0.1663 per share (ex-dividend April 2) with a 25% payout ratio; the company has a market cap of $40.57B, a P/E of 13.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $12.12 and last traded at $12.0850, with a volume of 8934279 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ericsson in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ericsson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Ericsson in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Ericsson to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ericsson in a report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Ericsson Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $40.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.91. The business's fifty day moving average is $11.40 and its 200-day moving average is $10.22.

Ericsson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.1663 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Ericsson's payout ratio is presently 25.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ericsson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ericsson in the third quarter worth $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Ericsson by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 13,017 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Ericsson during the first quarter valued at about $126,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ericsson by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 16,324 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ericsson by 57.6% in the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 32,277 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 11,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.99% of the company's stock.

About Ericsson

Ericsson AB is a Swedish multinational telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Stockholm. Founded in 1876 by Lars Magnus Ericsson, the company designs, develops and sells infrastructure, software and services that enable mobile and fixed-line networks worldwide. Ericsson serves a global customer base that includes mobile network operators, enterprise customers and public-sector organizations across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

The company's core activities center on building and modernizing network infrastructure, with a particular focus on radio access networks (RAN), core network software, cloud-native solutions and network management systems.

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