Jan Carlson Sells 1,555 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Stock

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 77,493 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,041.76. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Autoliv Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of ALV opened at $108.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.13. The stock has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.49 and a 12 month high of $112.32.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to buy up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Autoliv’s payout ratio is currently 39.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $670,270,000 after buying an additional 641,895 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Autoliv by 418.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,483,726 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $219,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,515 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in Autoliv by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,382,265 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $223,433,000 after purchasing an additional 351,876 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Autoliv by 14.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,857,069 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $164,257,000 after purchasing an additional 233,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 1,378,636 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $133,259,000 after purchasing an additional 59,592 shares during the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ALV shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. BNP Paribas upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Autoliv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

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.