Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $130.15 and last traded at $129.48, with a volume of 142216 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $127.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Autoliv Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $112.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.31.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, April 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.21. Autoliv had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 6.45%.The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Autoliv, Inc. will post 10.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 37.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Franz-Josef Kortuem sold 8,300 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.40, for a total value of $999,320.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,099.60. The trade was a 59.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Autoliv by 11.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 180,208 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $22,256,000 after acquiring an additional 18,673 shares during the last quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in Autoliv during the third quarter worth approximately $1,302,000. Northstar Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Autoliv during the third quarter worth approximately $1,484,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Autoliv during the third quarter worth approximately $1,385,000. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in Autoliv during the third quarter worth approximately $2,198,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Autoliv

Autoliv Inc (NYSE: ALV) is a leading global supplier of automotive safety systems, specializing in the design, development and manufacture of passive and active safety products. Its core product portfolio includes airbags, seatbelts, steering wheels, restraint control modules and pedestrian protection systems. In recent years, the company has also expanded into active safety technologies, offering radar, camera and sensor solutions that support advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving applications.

Founded in 1997 following the spin-off of Electrolux’s automotive safety business, Autoliv has evolved into a multinational organization with a presence in over 27 countries.