Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 73,072 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 25.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,028 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 73,072 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.27% of Autoliv worth $19,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,504,605 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $607,335,000 after purchasing an additional 376,665 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in Autoliv by 8.7% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,567,281 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $239,707,000 after buying an additional 205,241 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Autoliv by 3.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,316,874 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $140,892,000 after buying an additional 40,957 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted 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 acquiring an additional 207,521 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 10.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 987,375 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $92,221,000 after acquiring an additional 95,888 shares during the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Autoliv Stock Up 0.4 %

ALV traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $94.39. The company had a trading volume of 465,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 700,888. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. 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 one year low of $89.51 and a one year high of $129.38. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $96.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.32.

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Autoliv's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.46.

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.