Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 34,188 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. raised its stake in Autoliv by 6.0%, buying 34,188 shares to hold 607,441 shares (0.80% of the company) valued at about $72.1 million.
• Autoliv beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.19 vs. $2.85 expected and revenue of $2.82 billion (up 7.7% year-over-year), with strong profitability metrics (ROE 30.42%, net margin 6.8%).
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.87 (annualized $3.48, ~3.2% yield) while insiders sold roughly 22,243 shares (~$2.7M) last quarter; analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $134.50.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 607,441 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,188 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.80% of Autoliv worth $72,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ALV. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 204 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 18,550.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

ALV opened at $110.26 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.09 and a 200 day moving average of $118.21. Autoliv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.82 and a 52-week high of $130.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.35.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.34. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 6.80%.The company had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.05 EPS. Autoliv's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Autoliv's payout ratio is 36.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $132.00 target price on Autoliv in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Autoliv from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Autoliv in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Evercore dropped their price objective on Autoliv from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Autoliv from $125.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 1,278 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total transaction of $155,954.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $239,544.89. The trade was a 39.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $194,332.78. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,139.79. This trade represents a 17.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 22,243 shares of company stock worth $2,713,735 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

About Autoliv

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.