LPL Financial LLC Decreases Holdings in Ericsson $ERIC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Ericsson by 8.5%, holding 552,199 shares worth approximately $4.29 million after selling 51,483 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds increased their investments in Ericsson, with Millennium Management LLC leading the way by raising its holdings by 234.6% during the previous quarter.
• Analysts upgraded Ericsson from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating positive market sentiment towards the company's stock.

LPL Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 552,199 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 51,483 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Ericsson were worth $4,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ERIC. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Ericsson by 234.6% in 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 in the last quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ericsson by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 6,382,140 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $51,440,000 after buying an additional 1,427,386 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Ericsson by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,463,200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $19,853,000 after acquiring an additional 431,300 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Ericsson by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 2,257,459 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $18,195,000 after acquiring an additional 383,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Ericsson by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,771,321 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $14,277,000 after acquiring an additional 519,029 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.99% of the company's stock.

Ericsson Stock Up 0.6%

ERIC traded up $0.05 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.74. 1,288,142 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,017,180. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $7.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.03. Ericsson has a 12-month low of $6.64 and a 12-month high of $8.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Ericsson had a return on equity of 21.17% and a net margin of 7.06%. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($3.34) earnings per share. Ericsson's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ericsson will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.