Bank of America Corp DE Sells 116,915 Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,972 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 116,915 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.29% of Lear worth $14,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lear by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $614,782,000 after purchasing an additional 447,835 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lear by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $247,566,000 after acquiring an additional 283,838 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in 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 valued at $209,531,000 after purchasing an additional 498,918 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $174,461,000 after purchasing an additional 22,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $107,313,000 after purchasing an additional 356,760 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Lear Price Performance

LEA traded up $2.91 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $92.07. 648,682 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,450. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, 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. Lear Co. has a 12-month low of $73.85 and a 12-month high of $127.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.63.

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

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Lear's payout ratio is 36.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEA has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut Lear from an "equal weight" rating to a "negative" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lear from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.09.

About Lear

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.