Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $140.00 target price on the auto parts company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $109.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Autoliv from $132.00 to $129.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Autoliv from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Autoliv in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $133.00 price target on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Autoliv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.88.

Autoliv Stock Down 0.2%

Autoliv stock opened at $117.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $120.06 and its 200-day moving average is $116.24. Autoliv has a fifty-two week low of $75.49 and a fifty-two week high of $129.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The auto parts company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 7.09% and a return on equity of 31.22%. Autoliv’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Autoliv will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Autoliv by 418.3% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 2,004,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Autoliv in the second quarter valued at about $110,368,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Autoliv by 54.9% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,579,687 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $195,091,000 after purchasing an additional 559,605 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Autoliv by 151.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 923,700 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $114,077,000 after buying an additional 556,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in Autoliv by 26.3% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,397,735 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $268,307,000 after buying an additional 499,411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

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.