Autoliv, Inc. $ALV Shares Acquired by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Autoliv, Inc. by 857.3% in the 1st quarter, acquiring a total of $266,000 worth of shares.
• Autoliv recently announced a dividend increase to $0.85 per share, up from $0.70, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%.
• Several analysts upgraded Autoliv's ratings, with some projecting a target price of up to $140.00, indicating strong market confidence.

AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 857.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,006 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Autoliv were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Autoliv by 418.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,483,726 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $219,686,000 after buying an additional 2,004,515 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,857,069 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $164,257,000 after acquiring an additional 233,469 shares during the period. Lancaster Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Lancaster Investment Management now owns 903,537 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $79,918,000 after acquiring an additional 334,716 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 793,306 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $70,168,000 after acquiring an additional 91,312 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Autoliv by 73.4% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 556,633 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $49,234,000 after purchasing an additional 235,553 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ALV. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Autoliv from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas upgraded Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Autoliv has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.64.

Autoliv Price Performance

ALV traded down $0.64 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $123.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 332,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 793,633. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $116.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.35. Autoliv, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.49 and a twelve month high of $126.10.

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

Autoliv announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to repurchase up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total value of $168,437.60. Following the sale, the director owned 77,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,041.76. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.