Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $75.49 and last traded at $76.61, with a volume of 749441 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ALV. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Autoliv from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Pareto Securities lowered shares of Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $112.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.93.

Autoliv Trading Down 4.4 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.84 and a 200 day moving average of $94.69. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 34.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Autoliv news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total value of $178,839.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,261 shares in the company, valued at $720,218.59. This trade represents a 19.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.85, for a total value of $39,638.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,712.25. This represents 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Autoliv

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 41.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 30,216 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 8,859 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Autoliv by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 987,375 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $92,221,000 after acquiring an additional 95,888 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Autoliv in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,684,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 276,315 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $25,800,000 after acquiring an additional 76,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 6,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is currently 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.