American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 33,461 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Autoliv, Inc. by 22.4% during the 1st quarter, representing a total value of approximately $16.15 million.
• Autoliv recently announced a $2.50 billion share buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 31.3% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.85 from the previous $0.70, with an annualized yield of 2.7%.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 22.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 182,541 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,461 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.24% of Autoliv worth $16,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $219,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,515 shares during the period. Lancaster Investment Management raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 58.8% in the first quarter. Lancaster Investment Management now owns 903,537 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $79,918,000 after acquiring an additional 334,716 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Autoliv in the fourth quarter worth about $25,749,000. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 73.4% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 556,633 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $49,234,000 after acquiring an additional 235,553 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 14.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,857,069 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $164,257,000 after acquiring an additional 233,469 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ALV. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Autoliv from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Autoliv has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.64.

Autoliv Stock Down 0.2%

ALV stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $123.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 605,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 546,594. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.67. Autoliv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.49 and a 52-week high of $125.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Autoliv's payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

Autoliv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to buy 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 stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,394,041.76. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% 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.