Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PHG. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Koninklijke Philips to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Koninklijke Philips in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Koninklijke Philips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Koninklijke Philips from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Koninklijke Philips Stock Down 0.5%

PHG stock opened at $31.25 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.53 and a 200-day moving average of $28.00. Koninklijke Philips has a fifty-two week low of $21.48 and a fifty-two week high of $33.44. The company has a market capitalization of $30.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a PEG ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The technology company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. Koninklijke Philips had a net margin of 5.09% and a return on equity of 13.68%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Koninklijke Philips will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Koninklijke Philips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $1.013 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a boost from Koninklijke Philips’s previous annual dividend of $0.89. This represents a dividend yield of 318.0%. Koninklijke Philips’s payout ratio is 77.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Koninklijke Philips during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Koninklijke Philips during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 179.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,272 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Koninklijke Philips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. 13.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Koninklijke Philips

Koninklijke Philips N.V. (NYSE: PHG), commonly known as Philips, is a Dutch multinational company focused on health technology. Founded in Eindhoven in 1891, the company evolved from a diversified electronics manufacturer into a specialist in healthcare products, systems and services. Philips is legally registered in the Netherlands and operates globally, supplying equipment and solutions to hospitals, clinics, healthcare providers and consumers across Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Philips’ principal activities center on medical technologies and personal health.