Erste Asset Management GmbH Takes Position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 11,600 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,095,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALV. Lancaster Investment Management increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Lancaster Investment Management now owns 568,821 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,350,000 after buying an additional 85,732 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Autoliv by 74.4% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Autoliv during the fourth quarter valued at $326,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,815,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Stock Performance

Autoliv stock opened at $90.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.28. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.55 and a 1-year high of $129.38.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.21. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. On average, analysts expect that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res cut Autoliv from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Daiwa America upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.14.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total value 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. The trade was a 19.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $569,664.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,305,062.30. The trade was a 19.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.