Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 13.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 793,306 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 91,312 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.03% of Autoliv worth $70,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALV. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,886 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,592 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,433 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 2.3% in the first quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of ALV stock traded down $4.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $112.00. 1,595,733 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 812,896. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.49 and a 12 month high of $118.98. The company has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50 day moving average price is $108.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to purchase up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ALV shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Autoliv in a research note 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 research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas raised Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Autoliv from $108.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.19.

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.