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

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 25.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,028 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 73,072 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Autoliv worth $19,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALV. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the first quarter worth $235,996,000. Lind Value II ApS acquired a new position in shares of Autoliv during the third quarter valued at $35,818,000. Caxton Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 121.9% in the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 686,622 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $82,690,000 after acquiring an additional 377,233 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Autoliv by 130.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 498,575 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $53,111,000 after purchasing an additional 281,956 shares during the period. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its holdings in 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 worth $117,330,000 after acquiring an additional 207,521 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of ALV traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.35. The stock had a trading volume of 275,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 704,299. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.51 and a 52 week high of $129.38. The company's fifty day moving average is $95.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.99.

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALV. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Autoliv in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Autoliv from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Autoliv from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.77.

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.