Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 3,556 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 39.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,490 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 3,556 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,820 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Autoliv by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,886 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Autoliv by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,592 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Autoliv by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,433 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Autoliv Stock Performance

NYSE:ALV opened at $117.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.97. Autoliv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.49 and a fifty-two week high of $118.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.53. The company has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.47% and a net margin of 6.63%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to reacquire up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a boost from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is 32.22%.

Insider Activity at Autoliv

In other news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 77,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,041.76. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen began coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Autoliv from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.06.

Autoliv 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.