Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $102.68, but opened at $106.01. Autoliv shares last traded at $102.19, with a volume of 235,264 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Autoliv's payout ratio is presently 32.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Autoliv from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Autoliv has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.00.

Autoliv Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $92.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.72.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 28.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Autoliv

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALV. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Autoliv by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,501 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Autoliv by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,820 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Autoliv by 74.4% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Autoliv by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,886 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Autoliv by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,592 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.