Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $120.64.

ALV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Autoliv from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Autoliv from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $123.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total value of $168,437.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,394,041.76. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALV. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 122.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 370 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Autoliv during the 1st quarter worth approximately $637,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in Autoliv by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 84,358 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $7,461,000 after buying an additional 8,953 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Autoliv by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 75,591 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $6,686,000 after buying an additional 5,137 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Autoliv during the 4th quarter valued at $3,815,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autoliv Stock Up 1.2%

Autoliv stock traded up $1.39 on Thursday, hitting $117.24. 610,593 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 838,364. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.37. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $110.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.06. Autoliv has a 1 year low of $75.49 and a 1 year high of $118.98.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 6.83%. Autoliv's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Autoliv will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to repurchase up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a boost from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Autoliv's payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

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.