Prudential PLC Decreases Position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Prudential PLC lowered its stake in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,805 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 13,825 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $3,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Autoliv by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 276,315 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $25,800,000 after purchasing an additional 76,510 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Autoliv by 10.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 987,375 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $92,221,000 after acquiring an additional 95,888 shares in the last quarter. Lancaster Investment Management lifted its stake in Autoliv by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Lancaster Investment Management now owns 568,821 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $53,350,000 after acquiring an additional 85,732 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Autoliv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $394,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 30,216 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 8,859 shares during the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Autoliv Stock Performance

NYSE ALV opened at $80.82 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.30. 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 firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.00 and a 52-week high of $129.38.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.21. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Autoliv news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 7,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,218.59. The trade was a 19.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.85, for a total value of $39,638.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,712.25. This trade represents a 36.92 % 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 valued at $915,534 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALV. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 target price for the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.14.

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.