Sandy Spring Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Sandy Spring Bank trimmed its position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $52,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Autoliv by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 6,344 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Autoliv by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,501 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Autoliv by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,456 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Autoliv by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,820 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Autoliv by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Autoliv has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.14.

Autoliv Stock Performance

Shares of Autoliv stock opened at $89.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.97 and its 200 day moving average is $95.77. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. 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, 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Autoliv’s payout ratio is currently 34.70%.

Insider Activity at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total value of $178,839.57. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,307 shares in the company, valued at $2,305,062.30. The trade was a 19.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.