First Trust Advisors LP Invests $241,000 in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,568 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,501 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Autoliv by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,820 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Autoliv by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Autoliv by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 273 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $109.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Pareto Securities lowered shares of Autoliv to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Autoliv from $112.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Autoliv from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autoliv has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total transaction of $178,839.57. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,218.59. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Magnus Jarlegren sold 1,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $127,391.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $607,013.86. This trade represents a 17.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,253 shares of company stock valued at $915,534 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Autoliv Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of ALV stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $102.03. 418,079 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 818,785. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.49 and a 1 year high of $129.38. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $89.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.12. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio 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.