Robert W. Baird Increases Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Price Target to $126.00

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $108.00 to $126.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the auto parts company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.03% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ALV. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.31.

Autoliv Stock Performance

NYSE:ALV opened at $117.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.37. Autoliv has a 1 year low of $75.49 and a 1 year high of $118.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.57.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.43. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.47% and a net margin of 6.63%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to buy up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total value of $168,437.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 77,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,041.76. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 418.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,483,726 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $219,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,515 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Autoliv by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $670,270,000 after buying an additional 641,895 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,397,735 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $268,307,000 after buying an additional 499,411 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv during the fourth quarter worth $36,761,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,382,265 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $223,433,000 after acquiring an additional 351,876 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.