Insider Selling: Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Director Sells $168,437.60 in Stock

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

Autoliv Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE ALV opened at $108.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.49 and a 1-year high of $112.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.13. The company has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

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

Autoliv announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to purchase up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Autoliv

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. Cowen began coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Autoliv from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.00.

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.