Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Coverage Initiated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $133.00 target price on the auto parts company's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Autoliv from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Autoliv from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.27.

Autoliv Stock Up 1.7%

Autoliv stock traded up $1.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.07. 705,705 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 808,681. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.36. Autoliv has a 1-year low of $75.49 and a 1-year high of $113.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $101.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.03.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.43. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.47% and a net margin of 6.63%. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Autoliv's payout ratio is presently 39.13%.

Autoliv declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other 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 now directly owns 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,394,041.76. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Autoliv by 418.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,483,726 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $219,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,515 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Autoliv by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $670,270,000 after purchasing an additional 641,895 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Autoliv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,761,000. FIL Ltd raised its position in Autoliv by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,382,265 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $223,433,000 after purchasing an additional 351,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lancaster Investment Management raised its position in Autoliv by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Lancaster Investment Management now owns 903,537 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $79,918,000 after purchasing an additional 334,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

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.