FIL Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC)

FIL Ltd lowered its position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC - Free Report) by 53.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 1,150,000 shares during the period. FIL Ltd's holdings in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) were worth $8,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ERIC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 131.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) in the fourth quarter valued at about $77,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) in the fourth quarter valued at about $81,000. Diametric Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ERIC. StockNews.com raised Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from $8.90 to $9.80 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Price Performance

Shares of ERIC traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.17. 26,277,917 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,992,419. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson has a 52-week low of $4.96 and a 52-week high of $8.90. The company has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -817,000.00, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.03.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.83 billion. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 0.06%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th were issued a $0.1315 dividend. This is a positive change from Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)'s previous dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 27th. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)'s dividend payout ratio is -1,800,000.10%.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) 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.