Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $97.00 price target on the auto parts company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $110.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Pareto Securities lowered Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Autoliv in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.64.

Autoliv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALV opened at $86.40 on Tuesday. Autoliv has a 1 year low of $75.49 and a 1 year high of $129.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.47.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.43. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Autoliv’s payout ratio is presently 32.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $569,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,305,062.30. This trade represents a 19.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.85, for a total value of $39,638.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 685 shares in the company, valued at $67,712.25. This trade represents a 36.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,253 shares of company stock valued at $915,534. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Autoliv by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $670,270,000 after acquiring an additional 641,895 shares during the period. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Autoliv by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,382,265 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $223,433,000 after buying an additional 351,876 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Autoliv by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,623,600 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $152,275,000 after buying an additional 134,347 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its stake in Autoliv by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 1,378,636 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $133,259,000 after acquiring an additional 59,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,023,937 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $96,035,000 after acquiring an additional 113,500 shares in the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Autoliv

Autoliv, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and supplies passive safety systems to the automotive industry in Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, and rest of Asia. It offers passive safety systems, including modules and components for frontal-impact airbag protection systems, side-impact airbag protection systems, seatbelts, steering wheels, and inflator technologies.