LSV Asset Management Increases Stake in Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its Autoliv stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 101,922 shares and bringing its total holding to 1.68 million shares worth about $199.6 million.
• Autoliv posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.05 versus the $1.84 estimate and revenue of $2.75 billion versus $2.61 billion expected. Revenue rose 6.8% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, payable June 8, implying a 2.8% yield. Analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $135.

LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,681,609 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 101,922 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 2.21% of Autoliv worth $199,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 126.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 845 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Autoliv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $191,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its position in Autoliv by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 153,189 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $18,184,000 after buying an additional 15,112 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Autoliv by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,343 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leuthold Group LLC raised its position in Autoliv by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 54,579 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $6,479,000 after buying an additional 12,340 shares during the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autoliv Stock Performance

ALV opened at $122.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $111.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.73. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.45 and a 12-month high of $130.14.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 29.03%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 10.53 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Autoliv's payout ratio is 37.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of Autoliv from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Autoliv from $150.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Autoliv has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Franz-Josef Kortuem sold 8,300 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.40, for a total transaction of $999,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $668,099.60. The trade was a 59.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christian Swahn sold 1,478 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total transaction of $180,360.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $648,467.42. This trade represents a 21.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,124 shares of company stock worth $2,698,873. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Autoliv Company Profile

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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