Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ALV. Barclays boosted their price target on Autoliv from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group raised Autoliv from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $102.00 to $141.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Autoliv from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Autoliv from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Autoliv from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Autoliv has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $129.50.

Autoliv Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of Autoliv stock opened at $109.35 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $120.92 and a 200-day moving average of $114.24. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.65. Autoliv has a 52-week low of $82.21 and a 52-week high of $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The auto parts company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 29.84%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Autoliv will post 9.82 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 22nd. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.75, for a total value of $240,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 77,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,822,237.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Autoliv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,356,000. Park West Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 427,060 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $47,058,000 after acquiring an additional 117,060 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Autoliv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,314,000. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,340 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,004,000 after acquiring an additional 14,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 146.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 61,242 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $6,748,000 after acquiring an additional 36,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

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.