Leuthold Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• Leuthold Group LLC boosted its Autoliv stake by 29.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 54,579 shares worth about $6.48 million.
• Autoliv reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.05 versus $1.84 expected and revenue of $2.75 billion, up 6.8% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, while analysts currently hold a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $135.

Leuthold Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,579 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 12,340 shares during the quarter. Leuthold Group LLC owned 0.07% of Autoliv worth $6,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALV. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Autoliv by 127,512.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 579,360 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $68,770,000 after buying an additional 578,906 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Autoliv by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,579,687 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $195,091,000 after buying an additional 559,605 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Autoliv by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 923,700 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $114,077,000 after buying an additional 556,651 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Autoliv by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,976,700 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $353,334,000 after buying an additional 375,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Autoliv during the 2nd quarter worth $34,816,000. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other news, insider Magnus Jarlegren sold 1,598 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.61, for a total value of $194,332.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,739 shares in the company, valued at $941,139.79. This represents a 17.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Franz-Josef Kortuem sold 8,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.40, for a total value of $999,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,549 shares in the company, valued at $668,099.60. The trade was a 59.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,243 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,735. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Autoliv Stock Down 4.7%

Autoliv stock opened at $114.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $110.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.67. The company has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.31. Autoliv, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.45 and a fifty-two week high of $130.14.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 29.03% and a net margin of 6.45%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 10.53 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ALV. Barclays dropped their target price on Autoliv from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Autoliv from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Autoliv from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Autoliv from $119.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

About Autoliv

Autoliv Inc NYSE: ALV is a leading global supplier of automotive safety systems, specializing in the design, development and manufacture of passive and active safety products. Its core product portfolio includes airbags, seatbelts, steering wheels, restraint control modules and pedestrian protection systems. In recent years, the company has also expanded into active safety technologies, offering radar, camera and sensor solutions that support advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving applications.

Founded in 1997 following the spin-off of Electrolux's automotive safety business, Autoliv has evolved into a multinational organization with a presence in over 27 countries.

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