Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $2.55 Million in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 27,192 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,550,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 273 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,433 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Trading Up 1.0%

Autoliv stock opened at $102.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $89.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.96. Autoliv, Inc. has a one year low of $75.49 and a one year high of $129.38. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.43. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 32.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas raised Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. StockNews.com raised Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Autoliv from $84.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Autoliv from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Autoliv from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Autoliv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.79.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $569,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,307 shares in the company, valued at $2,305,062.30. This trade represents a 19.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Fredrik Westin sold 1,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.19, for a total value of $178,839.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,218.59. The trade was a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,253 shares of company stock worth $915,534 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.