HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,138 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 44,884 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Autoliv were worth $762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lind Value II ApS purchased a new position in Autoliv during the third quarter valued at $35,818,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 6.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,504,605 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $607,335,000 after buying an additional 376,665 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 130.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 498,575 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $53,111,000 after buying an additional 281,956 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 21.8% during the second quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 1,160,076 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $117,330,000 after buying an additional 207,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Autoliv by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,567,281 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $239,707,000 after acquiring an additional 205,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ALV shares. StockNews.com downgraded Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Autoliv in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.46.

Autoliv Price Performance

NYSE:ALV traded down $0.24 on Thursday, reaching $91.27. 612,790 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 702,492. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.51 and a 12 month high of $129.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.37. The firm has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The auto parts company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.16). Autoliv had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 30.85%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Autoliv, Inc. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Autoliv's payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

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.