Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Autoliv in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa America raised shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Pareto Securities cut shares of Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Autoliv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.14.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of Autoliv stock traded down $5.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $84.87. 1,175,764 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 785,883. Autoliv has a fifty-two week low of $84.66 and a fifty-two week high of $129.38. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.71 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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Magnus Jarlegren sold 1,289 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $127,391.87. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $607,013.86. This trade represents a 17.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,305,062.30. This trade represents a 19.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,253 shares of company stock valued at $915,534 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in Autoliv by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $670,270,000 after purchasing an additional 641,895 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,382,265 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $223,433,000 after buying an additional 351,876 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,623,600 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $152,275,000 after buying an additional 134,347 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 1,378,636 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $133,259,000 after acquiring an additional 59,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,023,937 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $96,035,000 after acquiring an additional 113,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

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.