Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Stock Position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 67.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 701,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 284,002 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.90% of Autoliv worth $65,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALV. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 273 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Autoliv by 74.4% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in Autoliv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,501 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

ALV opened at $80.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.30. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.00 and a 1 year high of $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 28.62%. Sell-side analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 34.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Pareto Securities lowered Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa America raised shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 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, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 685 shares in the company, valued at $67,712.25. This represents a 36.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total transaction of $569,664.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 23,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,305,062.30. This trade represents a 19.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534 over the last quarter. 0.24% 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.