Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 361,347 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 3,666 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $33,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Autoliv by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 6,344 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Autoliv by 5.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 0.6% in 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 buying an additional 130 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,820 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 74.4% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Trading Down 4.7 %

Shares of Autoliv stock opened at $80.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.00 and a 1 year high of $129.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $94.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.30.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.21. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. Analysts forecast that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders 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 currently 34.70%.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total transaction of $178,839.57. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,261 shares in the company, valued at $720,218.59. The trade was a 19.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.85, for a total transaction of $39,638.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,712.25. This represents a 36.92 % 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 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ALV. StockNews.com cut shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC lowered Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $109.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen started coverage on Autoliv in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autoliv presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.14.

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.