Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $2.55 Million in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 27,192 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Autoliv in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,691,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,886 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Autoliv during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,718,000. Crestline Management LP boosted its position in Autoliv by 88.8% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 7,684 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advantage Inc. acquired a new position in Autoliv during the 4th quarter worth $778,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ALV shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Pareto Securities cut Autoliv to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Autoliv from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. BNP Paribas raised Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Six research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.29.

Autoliv Price Performance

ALV traded up $0.11 on Monday, hitting $102.06. 74,618 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 818,824. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.49 and a 12 month high of $129.38.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.22%.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In related news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the 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 directly owns 7,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $720,218.59. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.85, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 36.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.