Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ALV. Weiss Ratings upgraded Autoliv from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Autoliv from $119.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $143.00 price objective on Autoliv in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.25.

Autoliv Stock Performance

NYSE:ALV opened at $115.89 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.20 and a 200 day moving average of $117.59. The company has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.35. Autoliv has a 1-year low of $91.34 and a 1-year high of $130.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its earnings results on Saturday, April 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 6.45%.Autoliv’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Autoliv will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Autoliv’s payout ratio is presently 37.42%.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In related news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 8,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.51, for a total transaction of $1,108,378.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 29,290 shares in the company, valued at $3,617,607.90. This represents a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Magnus Jarlegren sold 1,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 7,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,139.79. This represents a 17.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,243 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,735. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,976,700 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $353,334,000 after acquiring an additional 375,454 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,562,641 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $304,185,000 after acquiring an additional 28,415 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,881,828 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $223,385,000 after acquiring an additional 37,661 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,867,396 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $221,660,000 after acquiring an additional 21,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,681,609 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $199,607,000 after acquiring an additional 101,922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Company Profile

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.