Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 41,496 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $3,670,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.05% of Autoliv at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in Autoliv by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,146,500 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $670,270,000 after purchasing an additional 641,895 shares during the period. FIL Ltd grew its stake in Autoliv by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,382,265 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $223,433,000 after purchasing an additional 351,876 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Autoliv by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,023,937 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $96,035,000 after buying an additional 113,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Autoliv by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 995,121 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $93,368,000 after buying an additional 7,746 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALV traded down $1.19 on Friday, hitting $110.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 264,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 829,119. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.59. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.49 and a 1 year high of $118.98. The company has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Autoliv's payout ratio is 30.63%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ALV shares. BNP Paribas raised Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. 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 research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Autoliv

In other news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 77,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,041.76. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.