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 report published on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Daiwa America raised shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC cut shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $109.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Autoliv from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.14.

Autoliv Price Performance

ALV stock opened at $90.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Autoliv has a one year low of $87.55 and a one year high of $129.38. The stock has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.28.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 28.62%. On average, analysts predict that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Autoliv news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,305,062.30. This represents a 19.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Magnus Jarlegren sold 1,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $607,013.86. This trade represents a 17.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 4th quarter worth about $2,550,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 4th quarter worth about $165,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 44,600 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 61,398 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,759,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 144,844 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $13,584,000 after acquiring an additional 14,180 shares in the last quarter. 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.