Lazard Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 40.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,903 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 11,007 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Autoliv were worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,550,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,691,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Autoliv by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,886 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Autoliv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,718,000. Finally, Crestline Management LP increased its stake in Autoliv by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 7,684 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Autoliv news, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.85, for a total transaction of $39,638.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,712.25. The trade was a 36.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total transaction of $178,839.57. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $720,218.59. The trade was a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ALV traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $100.83. 587,916 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 822,268. The company has a market cap of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. Autoliv, Inc. has a one year low of $75.49 and a one year high of $129.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $91.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.50.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Autoliv's payout ratio is presently 32.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ALV. Mizuho lifted their target price on Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. HSBC lowered shares of Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $109.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Autoliv from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Autoliv from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.29.

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.