Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Buys 6,485 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Autoliv, Inc. by 34.1% during the first quarter, now holding 25,489 shares valued at approximately $2.25 million.
• Autoliv recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.21 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 4.2% year-over-year to $2.71 billion.
• The company's dividend has been raised from $0.70 to $0.85, representing a 2.9% yield, with approval for a significant stock repurchase plan of $2.50 billion to enhance shareholder value.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 34.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,489 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,485 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Autoliv were worth $2,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 418.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,483,726 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $219,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,515 shares during the period. Lancaster Investment Management boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Lancaster Investment Management now owns 903,537 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $79,918,000 after acquiring an additional 334,716 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Autoliv during the 4th quarter valued at $25,749,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 73.4% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 556,633 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $49,234,000 after acquiring an additional 235,553 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,857,069 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $164,257,000 after acquiring an additional 233,469 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of ALV opened at $118.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.49 and a 12 month high of $119.53. The stock's 50 day moving average is $113.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.87. The firm has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.39.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.14. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 6.83%. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. Autoliv's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is 37.20%.

Autoliv announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to repurchase up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Autoliv from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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 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. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,394,041.76. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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