Northern Trust Corp Boosts Position in Ericsson $ERIC

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp significantly increased its stake in Ericsson by 106.6%, owning 3,659,696 shares valued at approximately $28.4 million after acquiring an additional 1,888,375 shares in the first quarter.
• Ericsson's stock was recently downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, with an average stock rating of "Hold" and a price target of $9.80.
• Despite reporting better-than-expected earnings per share of $0.14, Ericsson's quarterly revenue decreased by 6.2% year-over-year to $5.84 billion.

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Free Report) by 106.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,659,696 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 1,888,375 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.11% of Ericsson worth $28,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ericsson by 0.4% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 274,612 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Ericsson by 0.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 158,085 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ericsson by 9.5% during the first quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,476 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ericsson by 7.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,231 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ericsson by 6.3% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,122 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ERIC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ericsson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. BNP Paribas reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Ericsson in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $9.80.

Ericsson Price Performance

Shares of ERIC stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $7.92. 7,374,602 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,234,850. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $26.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.03. Ericsson has a fifty-two week low of $6.64 and a fifty-two week high of $8.99.

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

About Ericsson

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.