Autoliv, Inc. $ALV Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Autoliv by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,867,396 shares worth about $221.7 million. Institutional investors now own 69.57% of the company.
• Autoliv received a mixed analyst update: Jefferies downgraded the stock to Hold, while other firms maintained or raised targets. Overall, Wall Street now has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $135.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $2.05 EPS and $2.75 billion in revenue, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share payable June 8.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,867,396 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,221 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 2.46% of Autoliv worth $221,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALV. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in Autoliv by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 82,394 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $9,780,000 after buying an additional 6,634 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Autoliv in the fourth quarter valued at $301,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Autoliv by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 51,674 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $6,134,000 after buying an additional 5,354 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Autoliv by 3,629.0% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 71,708 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $9,396,000 after buying an additional 69,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Autoliv by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 63,512 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $7,545,000 after buying an additional 5,608 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALV. Wells Fargo & Company set a $116.00 price target on Autoliv in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $150.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wolfe Research set a $143.00 price objective on shares of Autoliv in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $135.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 8,974 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.51, for a total value of $1,108,378.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,617,607.90. The trade was a 23.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Magnus Jarlegren sold 1,598 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.61, for a total transaction of $194,332.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,739 shares in the company, valued at $941,139.79. The trade was a 17.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,243 shares of company stock worth $2,713,735. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Stock Up 0.6%

ALV opened at $121.68 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $110.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.08. Autoliv, Inc. has a one year low of $97.51 and a one year high of $130.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.31.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, April 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.21. Autoliv had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 6.45%.The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 10.53 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Autoliv's payout ratio is presently 37.42%.

Autoliv Company Profile

Autoliv Inc NYSE: ALV is a leading global supplier of automotive safety systems, specializing in the design, development and manufacture of passive and active safety products. Its core product portfolio includes airbags, seatbelts, steering wheels, restraint control modules and pedestrian protection systems. In recent years, the company has also expanded into active safety technologies, offering radar, camera and sensor solutions that support advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving applications.

Founded in 1997 following the spin-off of Electrolux's automotive safety business, Autoliv has evolved into a multinational organization with a presence in over 27 countries.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.