Amundi Raises Stock Holdings in Ericsson $ERIC

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in Ericsson by 10.8%, now owning 498,887 shares valued at approximately $3.73 million.
• Millennium Management raised its position in Ericsson significantly by 234.6%, holding 6.74 million shares and making it a major stakeholder.
• Analysts have mixed views on Ericsson, with a recent upgrade to a "strong-buy" rating from Wall Street Zen, while BNP Paribas maintains an "underperform" rating.

Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 498,887 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,692 shares during the quarter. Amundi's holdings in Ericsson were worth $3,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ericsson by 234.6% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,744,940 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $54,364,000 after purchasing an additional 4,729,207 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Ericsson by 106.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,659,696 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $28,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,888,375 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Ericsson in the first quarter worth $24,146,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Ericsson by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,463,200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $19,853,000 after buying an additional 431,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Ericsson by 113.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,387,985 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $18,531,000 after buying an additional 1,266,788 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.99% of the company's stock.

Ericsson Price Performance

NASDAQ:ERIC traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.00. 13,262,337 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,337,110. The business's 50-day moving average price is $7.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.03. The company has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.87. Ericsson has a 12-month low of $6.64 and a 12-month high of $8.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.54 billion. Ericsson had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 21.17%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($3.34) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ericsson will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ERIC shares. BNP Paribas reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Ericsson in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ericsson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.80.

Ericsson 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.