Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Short Interest Update

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the March 31st total of 1,590,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 541,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALV. StockNews.com raised Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Autoliv from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Autoliv from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Autoliv has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,143.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Autoliv news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,318 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total value of $144,887.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 5,458 shares in the company, valued at $599,997.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Colin Naughton sold 782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.68, for a total value of $86,551.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,143.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,388 shares of company stock valued at $921,757 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Autoliv during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,314,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the 4th quarter valued at $15,165,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its position in Autoliv by 43.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Autoliv by 2.8% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 231,211 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $22,307,000 after buying an additional 6,394 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Stock Up 0.6 %

ALV stock opened at $120.49 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $118.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.53. The company has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.72. Autoliv has a 12-month low of $79.66 and a 12-month high of $125.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given 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 yield of 2.26%. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 42.43%.

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.