Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:ERIC)

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 2,300 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 87% compared to the typical volume of 1,230 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ERIC shares. StockNews.com lowered Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from $8.90 to $9.80 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Stock Up 7.9 %

NASDAQ ERIC traded up $0.59 on Tuesday, hitting $8.04. 37,047,235 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,101,217. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson has a fifty-two week low of $4.77 and a fifty-two week high of $8.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $7.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.03. The company has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a PE ratio of -804,000.00, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.04). Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 0.06%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th were issued a dividend of $0.1315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 27th. This is a boost from Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)’s previous dividend of $0.13. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,800,000.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) 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 purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 41.3% in the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 19,021 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 5,557 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,000. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 15,045 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 16,079 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.99% of the company’s stock.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) 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.