Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.40.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ericsson in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Ericsson in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised Ericsson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ericsson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ericsson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ericsson

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ERIC. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ericsson by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 134,891 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 9,362 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ericsson during the 1st quarter worth about $126,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ericsson by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 250,389 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ericsson during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,735,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Ericsson by 42.9% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,350,029 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $28,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,398 shares in the last quarter. 7.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ericsson Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ ERIC opened at $11.51 on Wednesday. Ericsson has a 12 month low of $6.64 and a 12 month high of $12.11. The company has a market cap of $38.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.08.

Ericsson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a $0.1663 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Ericsson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.00%.

About Ericsson

Ericsson AB is a Swedish multinational telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Stockholm. Founded in 1876 by Lars Magnus Ericsson, the company designs, develops and sells infrastructure, software and services that enable mobile and fixed-line networks worldwide. Ericsson serves a global customer base that includes mobile network operators, enterprise customers and public-sector organizations across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

The company’s core activities center on building and modernizing network infrastructure, with a particular focus on radio access networks (RAN), core network software, cloud-native solutions and network management systems.