American Trust Investment Advisors LLC Grows Position in Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• American Trust Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Autoliv, Inc. by 6.8%, purchasing an additional 3,143 shares, now holding a total of 49,523 shares worth approximately $4.38 million.
• Several analysts have provided mixed ratings on Autoliv, with a majority rating it as a "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.64.
• Autoliv reported a quarterly EPS of $2.21, exceeding estimates, and has initiated a $2.5 billion stock repurchase plan to buy back up to 31.3% of its shares, signaling confidence in its stock value.

American Trust Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,523 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,143 shares during the period. Autoliv accounts for 1.8% of American Trust Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Autoliv worth $4,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 77,493 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,041.76. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ALV. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Autoliv has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.69.

Autoliv Stock Performance

ALV traded up $1.45 on Monday, reaching $126.14. The company had a trading volume of 158,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 789,860. The stock has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.34. Autoliv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.49 and a fifty-two week high of $126.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company's fifty day moving average is $117.56 and its 200 day moving average is $103.62.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to buy up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is 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.