JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Price Target to $129.00

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $117.00 to $129.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Autoliv from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Autoliv from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Autoliv from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $101.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Autoliv has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $118.60.

Autoliv Price Performance

ALV opened at $117.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Autoliv has a 52-week low of $79.66 and a 52-week high of $124.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $117.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.62. The company has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.72.

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

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Colin Naughton sold 782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.68, for a total value of $86,551.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,143.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Autoliv news, insider Colin Naughton sold 782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.68, for a total transaction of $86,551.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,143.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 4,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.72, for a total transaction of $463,676.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,256.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,388 shares of company stock valued at $921,757. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALV. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 3rd quarter valued at about $849,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 3rd quarter valued at about $254,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 143.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 28,814 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 16,990 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 30,114 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 10,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 4.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 439,353 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $42,389,000 after buying an additional 16,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

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.