StockNews.com Downgrades Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) to Hold

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. HSBC lowered shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $109.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Pareto Securities lowered shares of Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.14.

Autoliv Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ALV opened at $80.82 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv has a 12 month low of $78.00 and a 12 month high of $129.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.32.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last announced its 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 net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 28.62%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Autoliv news, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total transaction of $178,839.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $720,218.59. This represents a 19.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Magnus Jarlegren sold 1,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $127,391.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $607,013.86. This trade represents a 17.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $670,270,000 after purchasing an additional 641,895 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Autoliv in the 4th quarter valued at $36,761,000. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Autoliv by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,382,265 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $223,433,000 after buying an additional 351,876 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 701,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $65,840,000 after buying an additional 284,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,749,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.