Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

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

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on ALV. Daiwa America upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Pareto Securities downgraded Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC downgraded Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $109.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.23.

Autoliv Price Performance

Autoliv stock opened at $98.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $96.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.55. Autoliv has a one year low of $89.51 and a one year high of $129.38. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.58.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 EPS 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 expect that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.70%.

Insider Activity at Autoliv

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALV. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Autoliv by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,567,281 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $239,707,000 after buying an additional 205,241 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,561 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 2,115.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,612 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 48,391 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,670,000 after acquiring an additional 13,827 shares in the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Autoliv Company Profile

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.