Rhumbline Advisers Boosts Stake in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133,788 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.17% of Autoliv worth $11,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ALV. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Autoliv by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 30,216 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,821,000 after buying an additional 8,859 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Autoliv during the fourth quarter worth approximately $595,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 67,751 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $6,354,000 after acquiring an additional 19,360 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Autoliv during the 4th quarter worth $3,392,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Autoliv during the 4th quarter worth $394,000. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autoliv Stock Performance

ALV opened at $105.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $93.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.85. Autoliv, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.49 and a 1 year high of $119.74. The stock has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.43. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 28.62%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a boost from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is 39.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ALV shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on Autoliv in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autoliv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

Autoliv 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.