Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Short Interest Down 8.6% in March

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, a drop of 8.6% from the March 15th total of 1,740,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 536,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALV. Barclays raised their price target on Autoliv from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 20th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Autoliv from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Wolfe Research downgraded Autoliv from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Autoliv from $101.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Autoliv currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.18.

Insider Activity at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, VP Mikael Hagstrom sold 327 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.69, for a total transaction of $35,868.63. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,868.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Colin Naughton sold 782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.68, for a total value of $86,551.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,143.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Mikael Hagstrom sold 327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.69, for a total value of $35,868.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 327 shares in the company, valued at $35,868.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,388 shares of company stock valued at $921,757 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Autoliv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Autoliv during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Autoliv during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of ALV stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $115.89. The stock had a trading volume of 407,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 531,473. Autoliv has a one year low of $79.66 and a one year high of $124.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $116.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.72.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.37. Autoliv had a return on equity of 27.13% and a net margin of 4.66%. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Autoliv will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Autoliv's payout ratio is currently 47.30%.

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.

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