AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 470,096 Shares of Lear Corporation $LEA

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Lear Corporation by 483.4% during the first quarter, now owning over 1.06% of Lear's shares worth approximately $49.6 million.
• The majority of Lear Corporation's stock, approximately 97.04%, is owned by institutional investors, including significant increases in holdings by American Century Companies Inc. and Millennium Management LLC.
• Lear has reported a positive earnings performance with $3.47 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) by 483.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 567,335 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 470,096 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.06% of Lear worth $49,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Lear in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lear in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Lear by 131.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 765 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Lear in the first quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Lear by 57.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 938 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on LEA shares. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lear from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lear from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

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

Lear Stock Performance

Lear stock traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $111.24. The company had a trading volume of 683,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,536. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Lear Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.85 and a 52 week high of $115.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.95 and a 200-day moving average of $94.66. The firm has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Lear had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Lear has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is 35.94%.

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.