HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Sells 38,122 Shares of Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) by 37.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,900 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 38,122 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Autoliv were worth $5,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Autoliv by 2.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Autoliv by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,592 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,213,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Autoliv by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,433 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Autoliv by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Autoliv by 2.8% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ALV shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autoliv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.64.

Autoliv Trading Down 0.5%

ALV opened at $118.37 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.39. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $75.49 and a one year high of $119.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $113.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.72.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 30.73%. Autoliv’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv declared that its board 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 buy up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

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.