State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 3,358 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 43,178 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 3,358 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $4,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALV. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 4th quarter worth about $2,314,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,165,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 90.3% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in Autoliv by 43.5% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,250 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $796,000 after buying an additional 2,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Autoliv by 2.8% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 231,211 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $22,307,000 after buying an additional 6,394 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

NYSE:ALV traded up $6.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $122.24. 1,500,131 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 545,372. Autoliv, Inc. has a one year low of $79.66 and a one year high of $125.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $117.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.75.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 27.13%. The business’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.68 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 4,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.72, for a total value of $463,676.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,925,256.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Autoliv news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 4,226 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.72, for a total value of $463,676.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 17,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,256.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,318 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total transaction of $144,887.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 5,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $599,997.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,388 shares of company stock worth $921,757. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALV. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Autoliv from $101.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 12th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Autoliv from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Autoliv from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Autoliv from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.60.

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.