Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Invests $1.30 Million in Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI has acquired 14,700 shares of Autoliv, Inc., valued at approximately $1.3 million, indicating increasing institutional interest in the company.
• Autoliv reported $2.21 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a 4.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.71 billion.
• The company's board has authorized a $2.50 billion stock buyback plan, signaling their belief that the company's shares are undervalued.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 14,700 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 122.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 370 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Autoliv in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Autoliv by 63.4% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 678 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Autoliv by 188.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 788 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ALV. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Autoliv from $106.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.92.

Autoliv Stock Performance

NYSE ALV traded up $0.37 on Monday, reaching $126.35. 125,014 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 780,624. The firm has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.62. Autoliv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.49 and a fifty-two week high of $127.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to reacquire up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.