Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 73,072 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 209,028 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 73,072 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $19,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Autoliv by 133.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 362 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Autoliv by 427.6% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 823 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Autoliv by 14.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 954 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the 2nd quarter worth about $156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of ALV opened at $98.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.99. Autoliv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.51 and a fifty-two week high of $129.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The auto parts company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.16). Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 5.98%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Autoliv from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Autoliv from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.77.

Autoliv 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.