Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Raises Position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 41.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,004 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,604 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALV. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 8.7% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,567,281 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $239,707,000 after purchasing an additional 205,241 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 145.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,228 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 7,844 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 105.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,637 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 83.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 417,992 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $39,028,000 after purchasing an additional 190,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 487,629 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $45,530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,060 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

ALV opened at $89.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.55 and a 1 year high of $129.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.80.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.21. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. Analysts forecast that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on ALV shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Pareto Securities downgraded Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC downgraded Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $109.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their price target on Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Autoliv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total transaction of $178,839.57. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,261 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $569,664.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 23,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,305,062.30. This trade represents a 19.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.