Centiva Capital LP Sells 21,047 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Centiva Capital LP reduced its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 74.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,224 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 21,047 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in Lear were worth $684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $90,700,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Lear by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $209,531,000 after acquiring an additional 498,918 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $614,782,000 after buying an additional 447,835 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $107,313,000 after buying an additional 356,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Lear during the 4th quarter worth $31,881,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded up $4.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $94.97. 708,188 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,246. Lear Co. has a 52-week low of $73.85 and a 52-week high of $133.56. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $87.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.99.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. The business's revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.11%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Lear in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Lear from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lear from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lear from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lear currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.00.

Lear Profile

Lear Corporation designs, develops, engineers, manufactures, assembles, and supplies automotive seating, and electrical distribution systems and related components for automotive original equipment manufacturers in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Its Seating segment offers seat systems, seat subsystems, keyseat components, seat trim covers, seat mechanisms, seat foams, and headrests, as well as surface materials, such as leather and fabric for automobiles and light trucks, compact cars, pick-up trucks, and sport utility vehicles.