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 acquired a new position in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,700 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Autoliv by 122.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 370 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Autoliv during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,029,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Autoliv during the first quarter valued at approximately $637,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 11.9% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 84,358 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $7,461,000 after purchasing an additional 8,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 75,591 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 5,137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $106.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Autoliv presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.92.

Autoliv Stock Performance

Autoliv stock traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $126.11. The company had a trading volume of 369,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 515,025. The firm has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Autoliv, Inc. has a one year low of $75.49 and a one year high of $127.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $118.60 and a 200 day moving average of $104.52.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.14. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to purchase up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Autoliv Company 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.