Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stake in Lear Corporation $LEA

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC has reduced its stake in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) by 48.5%, now owning approximately 0.09% of the company, valued at $4.16 million.
• Institutional investors dominate Lear Corporation's stock, owning 97.04% as several firms recently adjusted their positions, with American Century Companies increasing its stake by 105.7%.
• Lear Corporation reported $3.47 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share for shareholders.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 48.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,206 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 44,449 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.09% of Lear worth $4,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oldfield Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at $53,799,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Lear by 105.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 710,962 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $62,721,000 after buying an additional 365,382 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Lear by 394.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 244,273 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $23,133,000 after buying an additional 194,893 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Lear by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 903,723 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $85,583,000 after buying an additional 187,935 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Lear during the 4th quarter valued at $17,677,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LEA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lear from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lear from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.00.

Lear Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:LEA opened at $109.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.34. Lear Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.85 and a fifty-two week high of $117.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.72.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.89 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 13.94%. Lear's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.60 EPS. Lear has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.47, for a total transaction of $492,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,426.68. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.77, for a total transaction of $483,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 38,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,747,805.33. This represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,187 shares of company stock worth $1,086,425. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lear Company 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.

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