Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stake in Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly reduced its stake in Autoliv, Inc. by 50.9% during the first quarter, selling 77,297 shares and now owning 74,573 shares valued at approximately $6.6 million.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.70 to $0.85 per share, reflecting a positive change and resulting in a 2.8% yield with a payout ratio of 30.63%.
• Autoliv's latest quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.21 EPS and $2.71 billion in revenue, a 4.2% increase compared to the same quarter last year, while analysts predict 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) by 50.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,573 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 77,297 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Autoliv worth $6,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,004,515 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 9.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Lancaster Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 334,716 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 793,306 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $70,168,000 after buying an additional 91,312 shares during the period. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 625,000 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $58,619,000 after buying an additional 225,000 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALV. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas Exane raised Autoliv from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $123.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autoliv presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.64.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of Autoliv stock traded up $1.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.34. 746,346 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 586,238. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Autoliv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.49 and a 52-week high of $125.66.

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.63%.

Autoliv declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to reacquire up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Autoliv

In other news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 77,493 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.