Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 27,192 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $670,270,000 after buying an additional 641,895 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Autoliv during the fourth quarter valued at $36,761,000. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Autoliv by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,382,265 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $223,433,000 after buying an additional 351,876 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Autoliv by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 701,994 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $65,840,000 after buying an additional 284,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Autoliv during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,749,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Autoliv from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Autoliv from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Autoliv from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Autoliv from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Autoliv Price Performance

NYSE ALV traded down $1.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $102.81. 690,650 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 821,206. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $92.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.58. The company has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.49 and a 1-year high of $128.66.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.22%.

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.