Short Interest in Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) Declines By 13.7%

Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 10,100,000 shares, a decrease of 13.7% from the February 13th total of 11,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Benjamin Lyon sold 14,568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total value of $954,204.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 125,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,203,023.50. This represents a 10.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Aptiv by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,289,126 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $864,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,104 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aptiv by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,775,251 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $470,247,000 after acquiring an additional 126,882 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aptiv by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,146,947 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $371,767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408,433 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aptiv by 1,390.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,361,795 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $386,103,000 after acquiring an additional 5,002,090 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aptiv by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,882,254 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $234,799,000 after acquiring an additional 223,831 shares during the period. 94.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on APTV. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Aptiv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Aptiv from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Aptiv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Aptiv in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Aptiv in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Aptiv Stock Performance

APTV stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,265,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,224,353. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.78. Aptiv has a 52 week low of $51.47 and a 52 week high of $85.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.12. Aptiv had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 9.07%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aptiv will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

About Aptiv

Aptiv PLC engages in design, manufacture, and sale of vehicle components in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, South America, and internationally. The company provides electrical, electronic, and safety technology solutions to the automotive and commercial vehicle markets. It operates through two segments, Signal and Power Solutions, and Advanced Safety and User Experience.