Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) Increases Dividend to $0.13 Per Share

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) declared a dividend on Tuesday, January 23rd, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.1293 per share by the communications equipment provider on Tuesday, April 2nd. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This is an increase from Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)'s previous dividend of $0.08.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) has raised its dividend payment by an average of 16.6% per year over the last three years. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) has a dividend payout ratio of 48.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) to earn $0.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.6%.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Stock Performance

Shares of ERIC traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $5.35. 15,394,676 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,470,348. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson has a 1-year low of $4.33 and a 1-year high of $6.36. The stock has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.33 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's fifty day moving average is $5.50 and its 200 day moving average is $5.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.04 billion. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a positive return on equity of 11.77% and a negative net margin of 9.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ERIC. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 2,162.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 33,870 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 32,373 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 202.2% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 49,881 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 33,376 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 235,231 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 21,523 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) in the 4th quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 36,096 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ERIC. TheStreet upgraded Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays lowered Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.90.

About Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

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.