Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,700 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.19% of Autoliv worth $14,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 6.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,504,605 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $607,335,000 after purchasing an additional 376,665 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Autoliv by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,567,281 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $239,707,000 after buying an additional 205,241 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Autoliv by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 987,375 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $92,221,000 after buying an additional 95,888 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 21.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 910,437 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $85,008,000 after acquiring an additional 159,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 487,629 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $45,530,000 after acquiring an additional 4,060 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ALV. Pareto Securities lowered Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Autoliv from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.14.

Autoliv Trading Up 3.1 %

ALV opened at $91.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Autoliv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.55 and a 52 week high of $129.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.21. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 28.62%. On average, research analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 34.70%.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total transaction of $178,839.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,218.59. This trade represents a 19.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.85, for a total value of $39,638.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,712.25. The trade was a 36.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.