Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $104.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Autoliv traded as high as $115.25 and last traded at $114.42, with a volume of 288357 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $111.90.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Autoliv in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Autoliv in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Autoliv from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total value of $168,437.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 77,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,041.76. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,004,515 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $670,270,000 after purchasing an additional 641,895 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 4th quarter worth about $36,761,000. FIL Ltd raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 351,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lancaster Investment Management raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Lancaster Investment Management now owns 903,537 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $79,918,000 after purchasing an additional 334,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $102.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.22. The stock has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.37.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 30.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.22%.

Autoliv announced that its board has approved 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 buy up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.