Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 399,059 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 7,289 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.52% of Autoliv worth $35,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 11.9% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 84,358 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,461,000 after acquiring an additional 8,953 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Autoliv by 56.4% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 122,759 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $10,858,000 after purchasing an additional 44,276 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Autoliv in the first quarter worth about $5,268,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position 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 worth $6,686,000 after buying an additional 5,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Autoliv during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALV has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.19.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALV traded down $4.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 946,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,424. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.37. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.49 and a 12-month high of $118.98. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $108.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 30.47%. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.22%.

Autoliv announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to reacquire up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total value of $168,437.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,394,041.76. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.