Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Trims Stock Holdings in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 110,246 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 20,583 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $12,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Autoliv by 269.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 872 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in Autoliv by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Autoliv by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,816 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ALV traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.71. The stock had a trading volume of 79,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.46. The firm has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.72. Autoliv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.66 and a twelve month high of $124.38.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 27.13% and a net margin of 4.66%. Autoliv’s quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.68 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ALV. Mizuho upped their target price on Autoliv from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Autoliv from $101.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Autoliv from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Autoliv from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.82.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other news, VP Mikael Hagstrom sold 327 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.69, for a total transaction of $35,868.63. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 327 shares in the company, valued at $35,868.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 4,226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.72, for a total value of $463,676.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,547 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,256.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Mikael Hagstrom sold 327 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.69, for a total value of $35,868.63. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,868.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,388 shares of company stock worth $921,757 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% 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.