Chase Investment Counsel Corp Invests $2.47 Million in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 22,405 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,468,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 9.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,264,937 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $507,961,000 after buying an additional 459,147 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Autoliv by 183.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 487,586 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $47,042,000 after acquiring an additional 315,668 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the third quarter worth $19,296,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 1,270.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 202,695 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $19,556,000 after purchasing an additional 187,907 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv during the fourth quarter valued at about $15,165,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Berenberg Bank raised Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $101.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Autoliv from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Autoliv has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.80.

Insider Activity

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

Autoliv Stock Performance

NYSE:ALV traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $121.65. 348,048 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 542,848. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $117.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.66 and a 12 month high of $125.91.

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

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued 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 presently 42.43%.

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.