Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 34,375 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Autoliv, Inc. by 20.4%, now holding 134,025 shares valued at approximately $11.86 million.
• Autoliv recently reported a net income of $2.21 EPS, surpassing analyst estimates, with quarterly revenue reaching $2.71 billion, a 4.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.85 per share, reflecting confidence with a 30.63% payout ratio, and plans for a $2.50 billion share buyback program.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 20.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,025 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 34,375 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Autoliv worth $11,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Autoliv in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 122.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 370 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the first quarter worth $44,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Autoliv by 63.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 678 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Autoliv by 188.6% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 788 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of ALV traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $123.95. The stock had a trading volume of 605,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,806. The business has a fifty day moving average of $116.25 and a 200 day moving average of $102.72. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.34. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.49 and a 12 month high of $125.82.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 30.73%. Autoliv's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 2.7%. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is 30.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALV. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Autoliv from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autoliv has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.