Lancaster Investment Management Buys 334,716 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Lancaster Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 58.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 903,537 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 334,716 shares during the quarter. Autoliv comprises 59.3% of Lancaster Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Lancaster Investment Management owned 1.17% of Autoliv worth $79,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $670,270,000 after purchasing an additional 641,895 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its position in Autoliv by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,382,265 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $223,433,000 after acquiring an additional 351,876 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,623,600 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $152,275,000 after buying an additional 134,347 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 1,378,636 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $133,259,000 after purchasing an additional 59,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,023,937 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $96,035,000 after purchasing an additional 113,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Autoliv from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Autoliv from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $123.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.06.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total value of $168,437.60. Following the sale, the director owned 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,394,041.76. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Autoliv Trading Down 0.6%

ALV traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $115.63. 1,257,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 814,488. The firm's fifty day moving average is $104.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.93. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.49 and a 1-year high of $118.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.37.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.43. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.47% and a net margin of 6.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company 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 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 yield of 2.94%. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.22%.

Autoliv announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to reacquire up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.