Autoliv, Inc. $ALV Shares Sold by LFL Advisers LLC

Key Points

• LFL Advisers LLC has trimmed its position in Autoliv, Inc. by 2.6%, now holding 288,698 shares, which make up approximately 11.2% of its portfolio.
• Autoliv announced a share repurchase plan allowing the company to buy back up to $2.50 billion of its stock, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.70 to $0.85 per share, reflecting a positive growth trend and a yield of 2.9%.

LFL Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 288,698 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 7,631 shares during the period. Autoliv accounts for about 11.2% of LFL Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. LFL Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Autoliv worth $25,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Autoliv by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,886 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Autoliv by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,592 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Autoliv by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,433 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Autoliv by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Autoliv by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,338 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total value of $168,437.60. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

NYSE:ALV traded up $0.0440 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $119.8840. 362,334 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 807,999. The company has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.39. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.49 and a 12 month high of $120.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $114.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.00.

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

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALV shares. Mizuho increased their price objective 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. Barclays reiterated 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.64.

About Autoliv

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.