Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ALV. HSBC lowered shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $109.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Autoliv from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Cowen started coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.14.

Autoliv Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ALV opened at $90.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv has a 12 month low of $87.55 and a 12 month high of $129.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.13.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.21. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 34.70%.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $569,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 23,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,305,062.30. The trade was a 19.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Magnus Jarlegren sold 1,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $127,391.87. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,142 shares in the company, valued at $607,013.86. This represents a 17.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Autoliv by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 273 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Autoliv by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in Autoliv during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Autoliv during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Autoliv during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by 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.