Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 1,726,814 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 136% from the previous session’s volume of 730,990 shares.The stock last traded at $89.99 and had previously closed at $87.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Pareto Securities cut shares of Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Cowen initiated coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.14.

Autoliv Trading Up 2.7 %

The firm 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’s 50-day moving average price is $96.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.17. 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 (NYSE:ALV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 34.70%.

Insider Activity at Autoliv

In other news, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.85, for a total value of $39,638.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 685 shares in the company, valued at $67,712.25. This represents a 36.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Magnus Jarlegren sold 1,289 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $127,391.87. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $607,013.86. The trade was a 17.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,253 shares of company stock valued at $915,534. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Autoliv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALV. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 10.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 987,375 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $92,221,000 after purchasing an additional 95,888 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 276,315 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $25,800,000 after purchasing an additional 76,510 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 1,437.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 51,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,855,000 after buying an additional 48,612 shares during the period. Lancaster Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Lancaster Investment Management now owns 568,821 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $53,350,000 after buying an additional 85,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 135,424 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $12,645,000 after buying an additional 33,490 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.