Capital Fund Management S.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. has reduced its stake in Autoliv, Inc. by 55.5%, now holding approximately 52,270 shares valued at $4.6 million after selling over 65,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Autoliv recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.21 EPS, surpassing analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $2.71 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 4.2%.
• The company has initiated a stock buyback program worth $2.50 billion, aiming to repurchase up to 31.3% of its stock, and has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.70 to $0.85 per share.

Capital Fund Management S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 55.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,270 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 65,288 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. owned about 0.07% of Autoliv worth $4,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,886 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in 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 boosted its holdings in 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 boosted its holdings in 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 boosted its holdings in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALV opened at $124.1820 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $114.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.39. 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 12 month low of $75.49 and a 12 month high of $124.82.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 6.83%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to purchase up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.63%.

Insider Activity at Autoliv

In related news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 77,493 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,041.76. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Autoliv from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autoliv presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.64.

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.

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