Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,078 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,157 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,078 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.22% of Autoliv worth $20,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Autoliv Stock Performance

ALV opened at $121.24 on Tuesday. Autoliv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.66 and a 52-week high of $125.91. The company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $117.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.27.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.37. Autoliv had a return on equity of 29.84% and a net margin of 5.10%. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 42.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ALV. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Autoliv from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Autoliv from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Autoliv from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Autoliv from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.90.

Insider Activity

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

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.