SG Americas Securities LLC Invests $637,000 in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,204 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALV. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Autoliv by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 132,389 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $12,417,000 after acquiring an additional 4,483 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Autoliv by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,501 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the fourth quarter worth $1,107,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 75,405 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,072,000 after purchasing an additional 6,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 406,348 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $38,111,000 after purchasing an additional 15,202 shares in the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.00.

Autoliv Stock Down 0.8%

ALV stock traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $109.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,770,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 806,396. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Autoliv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.49 and a twelve month high of $112.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $99.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.36.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 30.47%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Autoliv's payout ratio is currently 32.22%.

Autoliv declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to repurchase up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,394,041.76. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Autoliv 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.