Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,477 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 199 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Autoliv by 6.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,504,605 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $607,335,000 after purchasing an additional 376,665 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in Autoliv by 8.7% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,567,281 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $239,707,000 after acquiring an additional 205,241 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Autoliv by 10.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 987,375 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $92,221,000 after acquiring an additional 95,888 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Autoliv by 21.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 910,437 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $85,008,000 after acquiring an additional 159,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Autoliv by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 487,629 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $45,530,000 after acquiring an additional 4,060 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Autoliv

In related news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,305,062.30. This represents a 19.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 19.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,253 shares of company stock valued at $915,534. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Stock Performance

NYSE ALV opened at $89.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.05. Autoliv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.55 and a twelve month high of $129.38.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Autoliv’s payout ratio is presently 34.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ALV. Daiwa America upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Pareto Securities cut Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on Autoliv in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.14.

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.