Autoliv, Inc. $ALV Position Cut by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Autoliv, Inc. by 37.7%, owning 62,900 shares worth $5.56 million after selling 38,122 shares in the first quarter.
• Autoliv has authorized a $2.50 billion share buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 31.3% of its stock, indicating potential undervaluation.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.85 per share, reflecting a growth from the prior $0.70, and represents a 2.9% dividend yield.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 37.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,900 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 38,122 shares during the quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Autoliv worth $5,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Autoliv by 418.3% during 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 buying an additional 233,469 shares during the period. Lancaster Investment Management boosted 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 buying an additional 334,716 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 13.0% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 793,306 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $70,168,000 after buying an additional 91,312 shares during the period. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 625,000 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $58,619,000 after buying an additional 225,000 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Autoliv

In other news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 77,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,041.76. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALV. Wall Street Zen raised Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas raised Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Autoliv currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.64.

Autoliv Stock Performance

Shares of Autoliv stock traded up $4.1020 on Friday, reaching $124.1820. 432,996 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 601,312. 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 50-day moving average is $114.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.52. The firm has a market cap of $9.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.39. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.49 and a 1-year 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 6.83%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to repurchase up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

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

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.