Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 108.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,456 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 2,835 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,346 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 2.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 107,903 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $8,247,000 after buying an additional 2,073 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Autoliv by 16.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,143 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,845,000 after acquiring an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Autoliv during the first quarter worth $122,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Autoliv by 6.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,994,029 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $152,425,000 after acquiring an additional 113,949 shares in the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Autoliv news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 4,226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.72, for a total transaction of $463,676.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,925,256.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Mikael Hagstrom sold 327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.69, for a total value of $35,868.63. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,868.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 4,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,925,256.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,388 shares of company stock valued at $921,757. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Stock Performance

Autoliv stock opened at $114.29 on Friday. Autoliv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.66 and a fifty-two week high of $124.38. The company has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 27.13% and a net margin of 4.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.38%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Autoliv from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Autoliv from $101.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Autoliv from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.18.

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.